CREATE partners visit project sites with U.S. Rep. Garcia

Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE) partner representatives hosted U.S. Rep. Jesus Garcia (D-Ill.) on a project tour earlier this month.

CREATE officials escorted Garcia on visits to the Chicago Transportation Coordination Office; the location of the not-yet completed Harlem Avenue Grade Separation project; the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Co. 71st Street Grade Separation, which was completed in 2013; the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project, which is in final design; and the P1 Englewood Flyover project along the Metra Rock Island District near State Street, completed in 2016.

CREATE is a public-private partnership focused on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of freight, commuter and intercity rail service in the Chicago region.

In addition to highlighting the national importance of the CREATE projects, the program's partners discussed with Garcia the local mobility, transit, education and workforce benefits associated with those projects, CREATE officials said in a press release.

A member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Garcia said the CREATE tour helped generate ideas for his work on the committee as well as for the Future of Transportation caucus that he recently launched.