The Illinois Tollway, HR Green, Gannett Fleming, and TranSystems accepted an Honor Award in Transportation for Engineering Excellence for the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) BNSF Railway Bridge project during the 2023 Illinois ACEC Awards Gala.

The Illinois Tollway reconstructed the triple-track Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway Bridge over the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) to accommodate the reconstruction and widening of the $4 billion Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294).

The $96 million BNSF Railway Bridge Project increased highway clearances, requiring a track profile raise of nearly 4 feet to accommodate deeper, longer girders and a three-track temporary shoofly bridge to maintain rail traffic throughout construction. The two-span bridge supports three mainline tracks carrying BNSF freight traffic (52 trains a day) and Metra’s busiest line (104 trains a day) over a Tollway carrying approximately 200,000 vehicles.