(The Center Square) – In an effort to improve the movement of freight, Illinois is spending $200 million on 22 projects around the state.
Administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation using federal tax funds, the Illinois Competitive Freight Program is designed to implement the goals of the Illinois State Freight Plan.
“These funds will be used for 22 port, rail and highway projects in Illinois to address bottlenecks, increase mobility and improve the supply chain up and down the state,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Thursday in Decatur.
IDOT officials said every year, 1.6 billion tons valued at $2.5 trillion of freight flows in and out of the state, making Illinois one of the top states for freight activity.
One of the projects is a $10 million award that will leverage additional public and private resources to remove a crossing that averages almost 200 trains a week, blocking traffic for 17 hours while creating congestion and impeding first responders.
“From the union workers who will build this, to the plant workers in our industrial sector, to students at Richland, along with new business that are building here, our community will benefit greatly from this overpass and we can’t wait to see it completed,” Decatur Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe said.
Other projects include $40 million for capacity improvements at the Illinois 17 interchange with Interstate 57 in Kankakee, $4.3 million for congestion and safety upgrades at the Kaskaskia Regional Port District, and $18.8 million for a new Illinois 50 bridge over the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.