CHICAGO — CSX announced Tuesday (July 8, 2025) that the final girder has been placed for the Forest Hill Flyover, a landmark moment in the portion of the CREATE’s massive 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project that will separate CSX main lines in South Chicago from tracks used by Norfolk Southern, Metra, and the Belt Railway of Chicago.
The project, known as P3 in CREATE’s list of some 70 infrastructure improvements throughout the Chicago area, will carry CSX’s main lines over the lines used by the other railroads. It will eliminate what is currently an at-grade crossing used by 30 Metra SouthWest Service trains and about 35 freight trains daily. CSX, the lead railroad on the project, has overseen design and construction. Groundbreaking was held in fall 2022 [see “Officials are out in force …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 25, 2022]; at that time, completion was anticipated in the third quarter of this year.
“This project is going to be a game-changer,” Brett Guarino, CSX project manager II, design and construction, said in a press release. “Once the bridge is complete, it will significantly improve the movement of trains through this area.”
The $380 million flyover project is just a piece of the 75th Street Corridor project, which was broken into five smaller projects and overall is expected to cost $1.5 billion.
CSX also released the video below showing the girder placement.
