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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.
Kevin Bessler reports on statewide issues in
Illinois for the Center Square. He has over 30 years of
experience in radio news reporting throughout the Midwest.
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