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The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is gearing up for the 2012 construction season to advance work on the Chicago-St. Louis high-speed rail corridor.

Rail improvements will be concentrated between Wann and Godfrey, and Pontiac and Joliet, as IDOT prepares the segments for higher-speed train travel. Beginning in late March or early April, the department plans to build new sidings and add a second track, upgrade bridges and culverts, improve drainage, install and upgrade signal and wayside equipment, and improve crossings and approaches.

Also in 2012, IDOT plans to begin running higher-speed trains along a test segment between Dwight and Pontiac that has been upgraded with concrete ties, “premium” rail, new signal equipment and switches, and safety improvements such as four-quadrant gates, pedestrian gates and fencing.

During the 2011 construction season, workers installed more than 290,000 concrete ties, spread more than 633,000 tons of ballast, renewed 107 crossing surfaces and approaches, and installed 18 switches.

Construction on the 187-mile Chicago-St. Louis corridor is scheduled to be complete in 2014.