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In late 2010, Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) Program partners obligated all of the funds garnered from a $100 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant that was finalized in July.

Obligating the federal funds within five months exemplifies the public-private partners' commitment to "embracing the intent of the TIGER grant program — putting people to work and getting projects completed,” said Gary Hannig, secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation (a CREATE partner), in a prepared statement.
 
The TIGER grant funded the following five projects:
• construction of a third Union Pacific Railroad mainline around Proviso Yard in Bellwood, Berkeley, Elmhurst and Melrose Park, Ill.;
• installation of a traffic control system along the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad (IHB) between LaGrange and Broadview, Ill.;
• signalization of IHB’s Blue Island Yard running tracks in Blue Island and Riverdale, Ill.;
• construction of a grade separation structure under IHB/CSX Transportation track in Bridgeview; and
• improvements to roadways, sidewalks and curbs under railroad viaducts at 14 Chicago-area locations.

Construction is under way on some of the projects and the remainder will begin during the upcoming construction season, CREATE partners said in a prepared statement.

In addition to the Illinois DOT, CREATE partners include Amtrak, the Belt Railway Co. of Chicago, BNSF Railway Co., CN, Canadian Pacific, CSXT, IHB, Metra, Norfolk Southern Railway, UP and the Chicago DOT.
 
The CREATE program includes 46 rail improvement projects and 25 grade separations. To date, 11 projects have been completed, nine are under construction, eight are in the design phase and 15 are under environmental review.