Western Springs Overruns: BNSF Defends Itself

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – BNSF Railway this week defended its cost overruns with a Western Springs underpass project.

Last week, village officials complained about overruns that are expected to total a third more than the railroad's estimate a couple of years ago.

The village is projected to pay $2.8 million, instead of the original $2.1 million. Outside grants are expected to cover some of those costs.

In an email, BNSF spokesman Ben Wilemon told Patch that his company produced estimates in February 2020 that stipulated it would charge for actual costs for the work. Those estimates were a month before the pandemic started.

"At the time we produced estimates, we couldn’t have possibly foreseen the sustained changes to Metra’s schedule nor the global disruptions to the supply chain, both of which have made it impossible to predict rail traffic – a difficult proposition in the best of times," Wilemon said.

The village said 43 percent of the work was considered overtime, something that officials questioned. But Wilemon explained the company's position.

"Since much of the work is done after hours and weekends when Metra traffic is at a minimum, it results in overtime charges for our crews," he said. "Our monthly invoices to the Village consistently reflected these costs. We regret that the Village was caught off guard."

Village officials said they were surprised by a large bill in December. They said the company should have kept the village updated.

Earlier this week, Patch wrote a story about the village's concerns with the cost overruns.

The costs involved the West Underpass project near Clausen Avenue.