Illinois port district plans to add new rail line near McKinley Bridge

The Tri-City Regional Port District will construct an additional 9,600 feet of track for a new rail line at the port's southern harbor near the McKinley Bridge, as part of an overall expansion of the port, the Belleville, Ill., News-Democrat reports.

The South Rail Loop
project is being made possible by a $6-million federal Transportation
Investment Generating Economic Recovery program, or TIGER, grant from the
Maritime Administration in the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The grant will not only
fund the new railroad track but also 10 levee relief wells that the port has
cited as integral for the new intermodal hub and will protect the port from
flooding.

This grant will fund
construction of the expanded railway. Tri-City Regional Port District Executive
Director Dennis Wilmsmeyer said additional funding would be needed for the new
inland harbor.

The total expansion
project will cost more than $23 million. The state of Illinois has already
committed $4 million toward the project, and the port district has just
submitted a request for another TIGER grant, which he anticipates will account
for the remainder of the needed funding.

"The port district
is very fortunate and very grateful to have received funding and support of
this project," Wilmsmeyer said at a groundbreaking ceremony held on the
site of the south port. Other dignitaries on hand included state and county
officials, U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Belleville, and U.S. Secretary of
Transportation Ray LaHood.

Costello said the rail
project is one of three in the state funded by federal TIGER grants. He said
the development would help spark further economic activity at the port district
for the region.

"What we look
forward to is not only completing the south loop rail but also the harbor that
will be right behind us so that we can service not only this facility here but
a number of other businesses that may locate here in the future," Costello
said.

LaHood said the local
port grant was part of $1.5 billion provided by the federal government. He said
$60 billion in projects were requested.

"Many of the
projects could not be funded, not because they were not worthwhile, but because
we ran out of money," LaHood said. "And because Congressman Costello
personally called me and told me what value this project has for this region of
Illinois, we became aware of it and took a very, very close look."

Work on the new railroad
will begin immediately and will provide another means to transport mostly dry
bulk goods, like grain, to and from the port, Wilmsmeyer said. Construction of
the new harbor would take about two years, once funds have been received.

The Tri-City Regional Port
District transfers in excess of 3 million tons of product annually between
river barges, railcars and trucks, and generates $10 million in revenue
annually.