advertisement

---

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn recently announced the state will provide $3 million for a new multi-modal station near downtown Rockford that will serve Amtrak’s new Chicago-Rockford-Dubuque corridor.

The Illinois Jobs Now! Capital plan funding will help cover costs to design and engineer the new station. The funding is in addition to $60 million that was allocated to build the rail corridor.

“Not only will we create a new station and Amtrak service, we’ll create new jobs and attract more economic development to the Rockford area,” Quinn said in a prepared statement. “Illinois residents will have additional travel options and reduced travel times from Rockford to the Chicago area and to western parts of our state.”

The station’s cost totals $12 million, including design and engineering expenses. The Illinois Department of Transportation and city officials expects to obtain the additional funds necessary to advance the project.

Construction is slated to begin in late 2012 on the site of the city’s former Amtrak station, which the city razed last year. The new station will serve passenger rail and public transit riders.

Construction on the rail corridor and station is expected to be completed by the end of 2014.