By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor
Momentum continues to build to locate a large CN multimodal facility in Channahon, Illinois, and relocate a CN yard in Waterloo, Iowa.
Regarding the latter, Waterloo officials recently learned the city will obtain a $750,000 federal grant from the fiscal-year 2023 Neighborhood Access and Equity program to help fund a study on relocating the CN yard from downtown to the municipality’s outskirts and completing safety improvements along the associated rail corridor.
CN’s yard occupies a prominent location within the heart of the city and spans a considerable expanse of land, Waterloo officials say.
The study will address how the relocation would improve downtown traffic congestion issues, ease traffic flows, enhance pedestrian access and improve safety. The study will focus on the yard, the rail lines leading into it and the associated grade crossings, and their effects on surrounding neighborhoods.
The grant will spur vital research on improving the city’s transportation infrastructure, said Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart in an online post.
"The relocation of the railroad yard and the safety improvements will benefit our community by enhancing accessibility and safety for residents and visitors alike,” he said.
Meanwhile, Channahon leaders continue to analyze and discuss the possibility of allowing CN to build its proposed Chicago Logistics Hub in the village, which is located about 50 miles from the Windy City. The project includes the development of a multimodal facility and logistics-oriented business park along CN’s line in Grundy County.
In 2019, the Class I began purchasing parcels totaling about 900 acres in proximity to its tracks west of McClindon Road. Most of the land is within Channahon’s village limits while a smaller portion is located in unincorporated Grundy County and the village of Minooka’s side of the Channahon-Minooka boundary agreement.
Efforts to relocate a CN yard in Waterloo, Iowa, are gaining steam. The city learned it will receive a federal grant to help fund a relocation study. CNIn September 2023, Channahon leaders obtained a professional fee agreement for the development of the Chicago Logistics Hub.
Officials from Channahon and its regional governmental partners continue to discuss the project’s potential impacts. The partners include the village of Minooka, city of Morris, Grundy County, Grundy Economic Development Council and Minooka Fire Protection District.
Most discussions have focused on transportation-related concerns and Channahon leaders have contracted a traffic consultant to help the partners determine the most advantageous ways to minimize local traffic impacts.
In February, Channahon officials continued to address the project and meet with regional partners and several large businesses that share traffic congestion concerns.
Channahon and Minooka leaders also received draft preliminary engineering packages from CN. The Class I has contracted V3 Engineering to develop a conceptual site design and preliminary traffic study.
“We have begun the review of the preliminary submittal, but some unknowns still exist with regard to site access that may affect the final proposed layout and engineering for the site,” said Channahon Village Administrator Thomas Durkin in an email. “It’s difficult at this time to determine exactly when construction could start as the internal review and comment process has recently started on the submittal and the official approval process has not yet begun.”
Over the next few months, the regional partners expect to learn and discuss more as the approval process officially gets underway, he added.
