CREATE grade-separation project begins on Chicago’s South Side

Construction will begin on the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program grade-separation project, on Chicago's South Side. The total $146 million project located at 130th Street, Torrence Avenue and the Norfolk Southern, is a cornerstone of the CREATE program. The construction phase is estimated to create more than 1,200 jobs and will improve safety at a critical crossing. CREATE is intended to improve the efficiency of freight rail moving through Chicago, keeping the city competitive as a commercial center and generating and retaining thousands of jobs. "This major project will create thousands of jobs by improving the flow of goods and services through one of Chicago's major manufacturing areas," Illinois Governor Pat Quinn said. "My administration is committed to investing in infrastructure and jobs in every region of our state." The project involves lowering 130th Street and Torrence Avenue to fit under two new bridges carrying NS tracks. The two streets and the tracks currently intersect, resulting in more than 200 hours in delay for the 32,000 vehicles that drive through the crossing daily. Trucks leaving the Ford Motor Company assembly plant nearby can wait as long as 20 minutes because of passing trains. Other components of the project include lowering Brainard Avenue to connect directly to 130th Street and Torrence Avenue, realigning the South Shore commuter line over Torrence Avenue and the NS tracks and adding pedestrian bridges and paths. Construction will be complete in 2015. Funding for the project includes $64.8 million from Governor Quinn's "Illinois Jobs Now!" capital program. The remaining project funds come from the federal government, the city, NS, the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District and the Ford Motor Company.