This article was originally published in the June 2024 issue of Railway Track and Structures as part of the magazine's Top Projects of 2024 list.

Union Pacific Railroad set out to simplify their Chicago intermodal operations and find ways to optimize the global supply chain. As part of this effort, the railroad invested heavily in upgrades to its Global II terminal located in Northlake, Illinois, while aiming to consolidate Chicago intermodal traffic from the Global I, Global III, and Canal Street facilities to Global II over a 4-year period from design to completion of construction.

The transformation of Union Pacific's Global II terminal embodies strategic planning, innovative solutions, and adaptability.

Global II is in a heavily developed area where open spaces for terminal expansion were non-existent. This presented a unique challenge for Union Pacific to redevelop the site while limiting impacts to existing terminal operations. Design teams from TranSystems and Olsson were selected to help strategically redevelop the site, increasing the terminal's capacity and allowing intermodal consolidation.

The effort saw existing warehouses turned into paved parking lots, runaround tracks relocated and grade separated, receiving and departure tracks turned into ramp tracks, portions of the hump yard turned into paved parking lots, relocation of maintenance facilities, and a new signalized intersection and out-gate to promote better traffic flow through the site.

The transformation of Union Pacific's Global II terminal embodies strategic planning, innovative solutions, and adaptability. Despite unique challenges, the collaboration between Union Pacific, the design teams, construction teams, and K-Five ensured these projects were completed allowing Union Pacific to reach their goal of simplifying Chicago intermodal operations and optimizing the global supply chain.