Prioritizing and improving at-grade highway-rail crossings in the Chicago region
CME Department Seminar
May 2, 2025
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM America/Chicago
Presenter: Tom Murtha, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning
Location: ERF 1047 and Zoom
Meeting ID: 535 718 1241
Passcode: Lin@842cme
Abstract: In the seven-county Chicago region, at-grade highway-rail crossings are a substantial source of unreliable travel times and safety challenges. As of January of this year, there were 3,151 public rail crossings in the region, of which 1,604 were at-grade. Motorists’ delay at those highway-rail grade crossings on weekdays totaled than 32,000 hours per day in 2023. But half of that delay occurs at just 119 crossings. During the seminar, I will discuss the procedures for railroad crossing delay estimation. I will also discuss progress in using estimates of delay and other data to prioritize railroad crossing studies and eventual improvements. Tom will conclude his seminar by highlighting some of the work now underway to improve at-grade railroad crossings.
Speaker Bio: Tom Murtha is a transportation planner at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP). Murtha focuses on freight transportation; he is the project manager for CMAP’s Regional Freight System Assessment and the Grade Crossings Feasibility Study. Prior to his focus on the freight system, Murtha worked on both long-term planning and short-term project programming at CMAP. Murtha has a B.A. in economics with a mathematical emphasis and a M.S. in urban and regional planning, both from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Murtha is a member of the Transportation Research Board’s Standing Committee on Trucking Industry Research. Prior appointments include the TRB’s Standing Committee on Urban Freight Transportation, the American Transportation Research Institute’s Research Advisory Committee, and the Village of Oak Park’s Parking and Traffic Commission (now the Transportation Commission).
Date posted
Apr 29, 2025
Date updated
Apr 29, 2025