A ceremony to dedicate the $105 million Central Rail Corridor grade separation project is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 12, 2009 at the Union Station, 701 East Douglas. The dedication will take place on the elevated platform adjacent to the railroad tracks (south and west of Union Station).
Speakers at the dedication will include Mayor Carl Brewer, former Mayor Bob Knight, Congressman Todd Tiahrt, City Council Member Janet Miller, Sedgwick County Commission Chair Kelly Parks, State Transportation Engineer Jerry Younger and representatives of the BNSF and Union Pacific railroads.
Construction began in April 2005, and provides eight miles of new track, a new centralized traffic control system for safety, and bridges at 1st, 2nd, Central, Murdock and 13th Street, as well as a new Chisholm Creek Bridge and widened Douglas Avenue Bridge.
The project extends the concept of elevating train traffic above street traffic to reduce accidents, which was first implemented with the construction of the Douglas, 1st and 2nd Street railroad overpasses in 1913. It also serves to eliminate traffic delays and associated air pollution and noise along the rail corridor as well as emergency vehicle disruption.
Parking for the media will be available on the elevated platform. Turn south from Douglas onto Mead, immediately east of the old Rock Island depot, then proceed south to the ramp that leads up to the platform.
Back to Top