Metra’s Homewood Station west side Park Avenue entrance will reopen to most customers Monday, May 20, when service resumes following the completion of a new stairway connecting the station’s pedestrian tunnel and the boarding platform.
The east side entrance off downtown Homewood remains closed during construction.
The station still will not be accessible to ADA customers. Metra is also replacing the elevator connecting the tunnel to the platform, but it is not expected to be in service until June 30. Metra suggests ADA customers use nearby Calumet Station, northeast of the intersection of Dixie Highway and 175th Street, or Flossmoor Station, just north of the intersection of Flossmoor Road and Sterling Avenue, both of which are ADA-accessible.
Although only the west side entrance will reopen, parking is available on the east side of the tracks in the commuter parking lot on Harwood Avenue. A portion of the lot is being used to stage construction materials, but the remainder is available for commuter parking.
When the east entrance closed last year, the village installed concrete barriers along Harwood and a wood walkway along part of Park Avenue to increase safety for commuters walking from the east side to the west side entrance.
(Eric Crump/H-F Chronicle)
The stairway and elevator work are part of a $20.7 million reconstruction of the station that began in 2023 and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2025. The project is the second phase of a comprehensive renovation project. Amtrak completed its portion in 2022, making the west side entrance ADA accessible.
The Metra project includes the construction of a new, ADA-accessible east headhouse, including a ramp; the renovation of the platform, wind breaks, warming house, and gatehouse; installation of new drainage, ventilation, lighting and interior finishes in the existing tunnel; and replacement of the elevator and stairs connecting the tunnel to the platform; a new Pace bus facility, including three bus bays, a covered waiting area, and driver relief facilities.
The Homewood project is part of the Metra Electric Community Initiative, a multiyear plan to renovate and make accessible 13 stations on the Metra Electric Line through Chicago’s south side and the South Suburbs.