Elmhurst Train Station May Start This Year

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst may go out to bid for its new train station in June, an official said Monday.

At a City Council committee meeting, Christina Coyle, the city's finance director, referred to the long-awaited project during a discussion about water main work.

She said if the project starts this year, the city would make the water mains near the train station a budget priority.

At the same time, Coyle left open the possibility that the project may not start this year.

The 2024 budget states the train station's construction is expected to start this year.

Seeking bids in June would be later than many projects. Public bodies such as Elmhurst often prefer going out to bid in the early part of the year, so contractors can get as much work done as possible before winter sets in.

The train station is now projected to cost $44.1 million, which is nearly $4 million more than a year ago.

In summer 2020, officials estimated the cost at $25 million. That's a difference of nearly $20 million in 3½ years.

A Patch story in November described what is planned for the new station.