Illinois awards $200 million to freight mobility improvement projects

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker last week announced the award of $200 million to help fund 22 projects designed to improve the movement of freight.

Five of the 22 projects are aimed at rail improvements. The Illinois Competitive Freight Program funds are administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation. The funds will be used for port, rail and highway projects to address bottlenecks, increase mobility and improve the supply chain, Pritzker said in a press release.

Selected rail projects include:

• $15.2 million to Bi-State Development for engineering and construction of the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis 3rd main project;

• $14 million to Cook County to acquire land for a grade separation for the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project, the Chicago CREATE program's largest project;

• $10 million to the city of Decatur to construct a grade separation on Norfolk Southern Railway track at Brush College Road and Faries Parkway;

• $5.2 million to the city of Rochelle for construction of the Northeast Illinois Transload Intermodal expansion project; and

• $771,960 to the village of Sauget for the engineering of a grade separation as part of the Illinois 3 Diversion project.

Projects to receive grants were chosen based on increasing safety, improving reliability and boosting intermodal connections and commerce.