CHICAGO — One of the major pieces of Chicago’s CREATE program marked a milestone on Wednesday, Oct. 15, as the first CSX Transportation train crossed the Forest Hill Flyover on the city’s South Side. The new structure separates CSX’s main line from tracks used by Metra, the Belt Railway of Chicago, and Norfolk Southern.
The Flyover is part of the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project, a series of infrastructure undertakings to address South Side rail congestion issues. By elevating CSX’s north-south main line above the east-west Metra, BRC, and NS tracks, the new bridge eliminates two sets of diamond crossings that were the source of major congestion as the intersection of 30 Metra SouthWest Service trains and about 35 freight trains.
Groundbreaking was held in October 2022 for the project, estimated at that time to cost $380 million, boosted by a $132 million federal grant in 20189, with the remainder coming from state and local goverments and railroads [see “Officials are out in force …,” Trains.com, Oct. 25, 2022]. The final girder on the new bridge was placed in July [see “CREATE’s Forest Hill Flyover …,” Trains.com, July 9, 2025].
A CSX video shows the first train to cross the Flyover.
The railroad says CSX and CREATE will hold a formal ceremony “in the coming weeks” to mark completion of the flyover.
