Heavy traffic congestion is a way of life in the Chicago metropolitan area.
Because freight rail service into the metropolitan area is estimated to nearly double over the next 20 years, record levels of freight will be hauled on our expressways and streets, increasing congestion and adding time to every motorist’s trip.
We need public policies that expand intermodal freight rail operations–transporting freight via rail over long distances and then using local haulers for door-to-door delivery. That’s why the Union League Club of Chicago, a member of the Business Leaders for Transportation coalition, supports an improved freight-rail infrastructure and increased intermodal capacity through the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency program. This is an unprecedented $1.5 billion, private-public initiative among the region’s major railroads, the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois.
The major rail carriers have already begun work on some initial CREATE projects, such as upgrading antiquated track and signals and modernizing congested rail intersections. But to obtain full benefit of the $100 million earmarked for CREATE in the recently enacted federal transportation bill–as well as for other critical transportation projects–the State of Illinois must provide matching funds.
Unless the Illinois General Assembly enacts a capital projects bill, needed rail improvements will remain stalled and traffic congestion will only worsen.
Chicago is still the hub of our nation’s transportation system.
But to ensure Illinois’ economic vitality, we need to look beyond highways for transportation solutions and to seek efficient ways to move freight in and through our state. The alternative is unacceptable: more gridlock, decaying highways, higher costs for businesses and taxpayers and job losses.
It’s time for the Illinois General Assembly to make a move.
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