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It is now official: The Track
Renewal Train has entered Logan County. Friday morning a trip along
Old Route 66 between Lincoln and Elkhart held a surprising scene,
yet when put into context, it made perfect sense.
Approximately every quarter- to half-mile along the side of
road stood a port-a-potty. While it looks odd to see such a
structure sitting on the edge of the road, it was also sitting
between the road and the train tracks, an early indicator that
something unusual is going on in this region.
Farther down, on the north end of Elkhart, were a few cars of
concrete railroad ties, an innovation as opposed to the old
creosote-coated wood ties.
At the only intersection into Elkhart off 66, there were a great
number of heavy earth-moving machines, several railroad workers and
on the tracks themselves just south of the intersection, the first
section of the Track Renewal Train system.
All of this is a huge undertaking that by the year 2014 will result
in a high-speed rail system passing through the heart of Logan
County.
The multi-part TRT system began in Alton and will stop just short of
Chicago in 2011. This is the first stage of the high-speed rail
implementation. The system is traveling at a pace of two miles per
day, will remove gravel from the track and ties, pull out the old
wooden ties, pull up the old track, lay new ties, lay and weld new
track, then redistribute the gravel and pack it into place.
According to a worker on the scene Friday morning, the crossing into
Elkhart is expected to close on Saturday morning and remain closed
until probably Tuesday. The TRT does run seven days a week but can only
work during daylight hours.
For more information, visit
these related links:
Illinois High-Speed and
Intercity Passenger Rail:
http://www.idothsr.org/
Construction details:
http://www.idothsr.org/construction/details/
Midwest High-Speed Rail:
http://www.connectthemidwest.com/
Pictures by Nila Smith |
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Just a few yards south of the road that leads
into Elkhart off 66, the first segment of the TRT system was already
at work early Friday morning.
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In the
first stage, a front-end bucket tractor scoops up gravel.
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