Metra official joined U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and our freight railroad partners Oct. 1 for a groundbreaking ceremony for the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) Program’s 75th Street Corridor Improvements Project (75th St. CIP).
The $474-million project, which is the largest in the CREATE Program, will eliminate a rail chokepoint on the south side of Chicago. The CREATE Program estimates that when the project is completed in 2025, it will eliminate 32,000 annual passenger hours of delay from rail travel in the region.
“For too long, congestion and delays have defined transportation and commerce in the Chicagoland area,” U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) said. “Illinoisans deserve a safe, efficient and reliable rail system, and today we’re a step closer to that reality.”
The project was awarded more than $132 million by the federal government, the largest single Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant. In addition to the INFRA grant, freight railroads are contributing $116 million, Illinois Department of Transportation is contributing $111 million, Cook County is contributing $78 million, Metra is contributing $23 million, Chicago Department of Transportation is contributing $9 million and Amtrak is contributing $5 million.
“We are all committed to improving service for both Chicago rail commuters and freight customers nationwide, and this project dramatically moves the ball forward by untangling one of the most congested points in the U.S. rail network,” said Edward R. Hamberger, president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads.
The INFRA grant award will be applied toward five individual projects including the construction of the Argo Connection, which will provide a new double track connection and crossovers between the Belt Railway of Chicago and lines owned by the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad and CSX allowing increased speeds through the area. Construction on the Argo Connection is expected to begin in 2019.
The other four projects included in the INFRA grant are the design and construction of a grade separation at 71st Street; the design and construction of a freight flyover at Forest Hill; the design of a commuter/freight flyover connecting Metra’s SouthWest Service Line to the Rock Island Line and the design for a realignment for freight tracks at Belt Junction, as well as the addition of a commuter track.
For more information on the CREATE Program click here.