Vollmer Road Viaduct Project

Thank you for visiting the Vollmer Road viaduct project webpage.

The Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways (DoTH) is committed to ensuring those who live and work in Cook County are part of our planning process. Bookmark this page or email DOTHProjectComments@cookcountyil.gov to request to join the mailing list to stay up to date on the Vollmer Road Viaduct project.

COOK COUNTY WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU – PROVIDE YOUR FEEDBACK ON PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS TO VOLLMER ROAD

Public Information Open House

Date: Sept. 22, 2026

Time: 5:30 - 7 p.m.

Location: Flossmoor Village Hall, 2800 Flossmoor Road, Flossmoor, IL 60422

This meeting will be conducted in an open house format, and the public may attend any time between 5:30 and 7 p.m. Exhibits will be on display in English and available in Spanish digitally. Project team members will be present to discuss the project and answer questions. This open house will offer Spanish interpretation to allow members of the public to converse with the project team in Spanish, as well.

Public information open house materials will be posted on this webpage after Sept. 22, 2026.

If you have questions about the open house or would like to submit comments or questions about the project, please contact the project team at DOTHProjectComments@cookcountyil.gov or via mail at:

Attn: Vollmer Road Viaduct Project Team
9501 Technology Blvd., Ste. 3200
Rosemont, IL 60018

Public comments will be accepted in person at the open house, via email or mail, through Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, for the public record.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Natalia Derevyanny, Natalia.Derevyanny@cookcountyil.gov and Meaghan Johnson, Meaghan.Johnson@cookcountyil.gov.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

DoTH is proposing roadway, drainage and bridge improvements to the Vollmer Road viaduct under the existing Metra and Canadian National (CN) railroads, located between Kedzie Avenue and Western Avenue. The purpose of the project is to improve vertical clearance for Vollmer Road under the existing Metra/CN railroad bridge. The project will address the deficient vertical clearance at the viaduct and provide safe and reliable operations through the viaduct.

Project location map showing location of Vollmer Road viaduct between Kedzie Avenue and Western Avenue.

EXISTING CONDITIONS

The current viaduct provides an overhead clearance of 11 feet, 9 inches, which is less than the legal maximum vehicular height of 13 feet, 6 inches in Illinois. The existing sub-standard vertical clearance results in crashes and near-misses, causing temporary road closures. The low-clearance viaduct creates several public safety and operational challenges, including:

Truck strikes and stuck-vehicle incidents require the Olympia Fields and/or Flossmoor Police Departments to close Vollmer Road, redirect traffic and coordinate vehicle removal, often diverting personnel and resources for several hours.
Emergency response times are increased because ladder trucks cannot safely pass beneath the viaduct and must take alternate routes, adding approximately one and one-half to two miles to emergency response routes.
The viaduct has generated more than 1,000 police department calls since 2019 due to truck strikes, stuck vehicles and other viaduct-related incidents.

Existing configuration of viaduct including low vertical clearance of 11 feet, 9 inches. — **Existing Viaduct Configuration**

Pictures depicting existing conditions at and near viaduct.

PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS

The proposed improvements include:

Full depth pavement reconstruction at and surrounding the viaduct to provide 14 feet, 9 inches of vertical clearance under the viaduct.
Reconstruction of existing bridge substructure.
New storm sewer between the viaduct and Butterfield Creek.

Proposed configuration of viaduct after improvements, including new vertical clearance of 14 feet, 9 inches. — **Proposed viaduct configuration**

Due to the narrowness of the viaduct, as well as the proposed work requiring extensive structural work and removals, a detour is required to divert traffic away from the viaduct during construction.

Map showing preferred detour route anticipated during construction.

Legend for map showing preferred detour route anticipated during construction.

PROJECT BENEFITS

Safety will be improved by reducing truck strikes and other vehicle collisions associated with the low-clearance viaduct.
Mobility will be improved by reducing roadway closures, traffic delays and detours caused by truck strikes and stuck vehicles.
Emergency response will be improved as sufficient vertical clearance will allow ladder trucks and other emergency vehicles to use Vollmer Road directly.
Quality of life will be improved by providing a more reliable transportation network and reducing disruptions to residents, businesses and emergency responders.
Regional and freight mobility will be improved by maintaining a critical freight and passenger rail corridor while enhancing roadway operations beneath the structure.

KEY COUNTY GOALS FROM THE LONG-RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN

Support the region’s role as North America’s freight capital.
Maintain and modernize what already exists.
Increase investments in transportation.

PROJECT TIMELINE

The preliminary engineering (Phase I) portion of this project is underway. During this phase, the project team developed several design alternatives and conducted environmental and engineering studies to determine the preferred alternative. Agency and community input will be considered throughout this phase.
Subsequent phases of the project will be implemented over a multi-year period. The detailed engineering design (Phase II) for this project, along with required property acquisition, are scheduled to begin in 2028.
Construction (Phase III) is scheduled to start as early as 2030 - 2031, pending final design, land acquisition completion and funding availability.