Norfolk Southern’s project to replace rail bridges over Cottage Grove Avenue and 73rd Street is still on time, but some neighbors are frustrated by a lack of updates after two years of work on the busy, six-way intersection.
Greater Grand Crossing — Some South Side residents are dissatisfied with what they claim is a lack of communication between local politicians and Norfolk Southern Railway on a bridge repair project that has disrupted a popular crossroads for nearly two years.
Norfolk Southern is replacing eight rail bridges in Greater Grand Crossing around the intersections of 71st Street, South Chicago, and Cottage Grove avenues, as well as crossing 73rd Street.
Two major bridges have been completed, and foundation construction is beginning for a third bridge that will connect Norfolk Southern’s 63rd Street terminal, according to Norfolk Southern spokesman Heather Garcia.
Cottage Grove Avenue and 73rd Street near the Chicago Skyway have been blocked for the project, which began in April 2023 and is anticipated to continue two years.
Though the project would take months to finish within the projected timeframe, Norfolk Southern and local officials’ lack of information about it has caused confusion among neighbors, they claimed.
“I’m not upset because they’re fixing it; it’s just – can you give us a timeline? “Can you tell the community anything?” Heidi Robertson, a Park Manor resident, stated.
Despite several follow-ups over more than a week, Garcia refused to answer questions on the most recent construction timeframe and expected costs, as well as whether nearby viaducts will need repair or replacement in the future.
Though Garcia commended the Chicago agency of Transportation with reducing the project’s construction timeframe by “about half” compared to similar projects, agency spokesperson Erica Schroeder referred all queries regarding the project to Norfolk Southern.
The project sits on the border of the 5th and 6th Wards. According to the city map, the Skyway serves as the boundary between the two wards. The railroad runs immediately north of the Skyway, crossing Cottage Grove Avenue and 73rd Street in the 5th Ward.
Ald. Desmon Yancy (5th) told Block Club that he believed the project was in the 6th Ward. Yancy and Ald. Michelle Harris (8th), whose ward is roughly a half-mile down 73rd Street from the construction, did not return interview requests.
Ald. William Hall (6th) believes the project is in his ward because it “gets hit the hardest” by detours and delays. Hall has received “no support from the people that own the bridges” as his office has received calls from citizens, he claims.
“As much as I want a safe underpass, I want [Norfolk Southern] to get this situation managed better,” Hall told the audience.
South Siders informed Block Club that they are confused who to contact for information on the bridge project. Robertson confronted Hall about the idea at a recent community meeting, but the alderman had no answers, she said.
“There’s this mystery of which public official you would need to contact,” Cottage Grove Avenue commuter J.P. Paulus said. “Even if the alderman is not the official that would have power, why haven’t [they or other government officials] noticed this issue?”
Neighbors noted that the road restrictions affect everyone who uses the Cottage Grove corridor, regardless of legislative limits.
Paulus lives in Bronzeville, and his daughter attends Burnside Scholastic Academy, located at 650 E. 91st Place. When Chicago Public Schools ceased providing bus service to his neighborhood, he began driving his daughter to and from school on Cottage Grove Avenue, he explained.
Since last April, his detours have mostly involved St. Lawrence Avenue — a road in need of repairs that risks “car damage,” he claims — or King Drive.
Robertson, a 6th Ward resident, usually travels King Drive as a detour while seeing her daughter or going to grocery stores along Cottage Grove Avenue, like as Aldi or Jewel-Osco in Woodlawn, she explained. That usually adds roughly a mile each round trip.
According to Robertson, the project also has an impact on the Grand Crossing (3rd) District police station, which is directly north of the project, the University of Chicago Medical Center, which is roughly two miles north, and other emergency services.
One walker, who claimed he was not from the neighborhood and was in a hurry to cross the railway Tuesday afternoon, walked past construction barricades at the Cottage Grove Avenue site on his way south.
Neighbors noted that the road restrictions affect everyone who uses the Cottage Grove corridor, regardless of legislative limits.
Paulus lives in Bronzeville, and his daughter attends Burnside Scholastic Academy, located at 650 E. 91st Place. When Chicago Public Schools ceased providing bus service to his neighborhood, he began driving his daughter to and from school on Cottage Grove Avenue, he explained.
Since last April, his detours have mostly involved St. Lawrence Avenue — a road in need of repairs that risks “car damage,” he claims — or King Drive.
Robertson, a 6th Ward resident, usually travels King Drive as a detour while seeing her daughter or going to grocery stores along Cottage Grove Avenue, like as Aldi or Jewel-Osco in Woodlawn, she explained. That usually adds roughly a mile each round trip.
According to Robertson, the project also has an impact on the Grand Crossing (3rd) District police station, which is directly north of the project, the University of Chicago Medical Center, which is roughly two miles north, and other emergency services.
One walker, who claimed he was not from the neighborhood and was in a hurry to cross the railway Tuesday afternoon, walked past construction barricades at the Cottage Grove Avenue site on his way south.
During construction, the Chicago Transit Authority diverted the #4 Cottage Grove and #X4 Cottage Grove Express routes to make stops on South Chicago Avenue, Greenwood Avenue, and 75th Street.
According to the Regional Transportation Authority, approximately 13,000 people traveled the Cottage Grove buses on an average daily in August—the most recent month for which data was available. If combined, the routes would be the CTA’s sixth busiest that month.
According to CTA spokesman Felicia Matthews, the detour adds around five minutes to regular routes, but this delay changes throughout the day. According to Matthews, the government anticipates that the routes will resume normal operations in April 2025.
Several regulars on the Cottage Grove lines who were waiting at the southbound 71st and South Chicago bus stop Tuesday afternoon said the diversion had little impact on their trip. They informed Block Club that they weren’t surprised by nearly two years of work with scant updates.
“This is Chicago. That’s what they do,” added Dre, who declined to reveal his surname.
Neighbors and local leaders believe Norfolk Southern and city officials should provide better information to citizens, such as signage indicating work and timetables.
“Neighbors have brought all their frustrations to my office,” Hall said, citing the lack of a sign indicating that the project is administered by Norfolk Southern. The effects of the street closures have been among “my top five complaints” since assuming office in May 2023, he stated.
Any kind of update would reassure neighbors that work is actually being done, Paulus said. Paulus, Robertson, and Hall all stated that they rarely see evidence of activity on the site, though workers were present when Block Club went last week.
Neighbors interviewed generally agreed that bridge repairs are necessary, as are repairs to other viaducts in Greater Grand Crossing and on the South Side, but they want improved communication with project and local leaders moving ahead.
“Every time I leave out, I’m like, ‘Ah, man, I wish Cottage Grove was back open,” Robertson said me.
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