As the expansion of the Third Street Commuter Parking Deck in Geneva enters its final full month of construction, residents and downtown visitors were greeted with a little more noise, but it’s been well worth the extremely slight inconvenience.

Walsh Construction installed precast panels along the south side of the structure, with Union Pacific flaggers on site as a safety precaution. When the flaggers are present during the daytime hours, passing trains are mandated to sound their horns as an additional level of safety.

To keep the workflow on schedule, the Geneva City Council has authorized Sunday construction hours at the parking deck — 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. if needed — during the month of January. You can find updates on the excellent city of Geneva website, Facebook, Twitter and its weekly GenevaMail eblast. Crews already are allowed to work on Saturdays per the construction contract.

The city expects the parking deck project to be substantially completed in the next few weeks, and anticipates reopening the structure to commuters sometime in February. Further restoration work will take place in the spring.

The $4.5 million third tier expansion will provide an additional 180 parking spaces and is being funded entirely by grants through Metra. The deck is being expanded in order to accommodate parking that will be lost as part of Union Pacific’s future plans to add a third rail line, which will remove some existing surface parking spaces.

For more information about the project, including shuttle service to temporary parking lots, please visit the city’s website.

SOURCE: city of Geneva