Durbin reports major funding for Illinois projects

Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said that the final Omnibus Appropriations Act that includes $126,432,544 in funding for several Illinois projects was approved by a joint House and Senate Conference Committee of which Durbin is a member. The House and Senate are expected to take up and pass the legislation before the end of the year. The bill will then go to the President for his signature.

Transportation area highlights include:
* CTA Circle Line, Chicago.
$1,500,000 in funding to advance the Circle Line. The project, which is
currently in Alternatives Analysis, will connect the existing CTA
Orange Line near Ashland with the existing Pink Line Cermak Branch near
18th Street. It will also connect CTA Red and Brown Lines near
North/Clybourn and add new CTA and Metra transfer stations along new
and existing CTA tracks. The Circle Line will reduce travel times and
enhance access between the growing city center and the entire region.
*
CTA Ravenswood Brown Line, Chicago: $304,744 in funding for the
capacity, expansion and station rehabilitation New Start project along
the Brown Line. This funding is part of the Full Funding Grant
Agreement signed in 2003 and represents the final payment under that
agreement.
* CTA Red Line North Rehabilitation, Chicago. $7,500,000
in funding for rehabilitation of the north end of the CTA Red Line,
which is one of the oldest segments and most in need of rehab in the
CTA system.
* Metra, Northeastern Illinois. $8,000,000 in funding
for alternatives analysis and preliminary engineering on METRA’s New
Starts expansion projects including the Union Pacific Northwest, Union
Pacific West, Suburban Transit Access Route (STAR) and SouthEast
Service Lines.
* Railway-Highway Grade Crossing Mitigation,
Galesburg: $2,922,000 in funding to accelerate the City’s efforts to
build rail-road grade separations at East Main, West Main and Seminary
Streets.
* Railway-Highway Grade Crossing Mitigation, Northeastern
Illinois: $1,948,000 in funding to help communities along the EJ&E
improve safety along at-grade railroad crossings facing significant
increases in freight traffic
* Railway-Highway Grade Crossing
Mitigation, Aurora: $1,000,000 in funding would help jumpstart work
needed for a grade separation at Ogden Avenue.  This grade-separation
was mandated by the Surface Transportation Board when they approved the
Canadian National’s purchase of the EJ&E Railway last year.  Ogden
Avenue is slated to see a four-fold increase in rail traffic in the
coming years. This traffic increase is also likely to significantly
increase traffic congestion, further emphasizing the need for a grade
separation. Durbin worked with Reps. Foster and Biggert on this project.
*
PEERS Rail-Grade Crossing Safety, Illinois: $487,000 in funding for the
PEERS program to improve rail-grade crossing safety through education
and enforcement initiatives. An Illinois Commerce Commission report
quantitatively demonstrated the effectiveness of the PEERS program in
improving safety at highway-rail crossings, detailing how the program
helped reduce fatalities along a Union Pacific line by 56.5 percenTransportation area highlights include:
* CTA Circle Line, Chicago.
$1,500,000 in funding to advance the Circle Line. The project, which is
currently in Alternatives Analysis, will connect the existing CTA
Orange Line near Ashland with the existing Pink Line Cermak Branch near
18th Street. It will also connect CTA Red and Brown Lines near
North/Clybourn and add new CTA and Metra transfer stations along new
and existing CTA tracks. The Circle Line will reduce travel times and
enhance access between the growing city center and the entire region.
*
CTA Ravenswood Brown Line, Chicago: $304,744 in funding for the
capacity, expansion and station rehabilitation New Start project along
the Brown Line. This funding is part of the Full Funding Grant
Agreement signed in 2003 and represents the final payment under that
agreement.
* CTA Red Line North Rehabilitation, Chicago. $7,500,000
in funding for rehabilitation of the north end of the CTA Red Line,
which is one of the oldest segments and most in need of rehab in the
CTA system.
* Metra, Northeastern Illinois. $8,000,000 in funding
for alternatives analysis and preliminary engineering on METRA’s New
Starts expansion projects including the Union Pacific Northwest, Union
Pacific West, Suburban Transit Access Route (STAR) and SouthEast
Service Lines.
* Railway-Highway Grade Crossing Mitigation,
Galesburg: $2,922,000 in funding to accelerate the City’s efforts to
build rail-road grade separations at East Main, West Main and Seminary
Streets.
* Railway-Highway Grade Crossing Mitigation, Northeastern
Illinois: $1,948,000 in funding to help communities along the EJ&E
improve safety along at-grade railroad crossings facing significant
increases in freight traffic
* Railway-Highway Grade Crossing
Mitigation, Aurora: $1,000,000 in funding would help jumpstart work
needed for a grade separation at Ogden Avenue.  This grade-separation
was mandated by the Surface Transportation Board when they approved the
Canadian National’s purchase of the EJ&E Railway last year.  Ogden
Avenue is slated to see a four-fold increase in rail traffic in the
coming years. This traffic increase is also likely to significantly
increase traffic congestion, further emphasizing the need for a grade
separation. Durbin worked with Reps. Foster and Biggert on this project.
*
PEERS Rail-Grade Crossing Safety, Illinois: $487,000 in funding for the
PEERS program to improve rail-grade crossing safety through education
and enforcement initiatives. An Illinois Commerce Commission report
quantitatively demonstrated the effectiveness of the PEERS program in
improving safety at highway-rail crossings, detailing how the program
helped reduce fatalities along a Union Pacific line by 56.5 percent in two years.