Officials reapply for Iowa City-Chicago railway
Written by jrood
Regional Transportation District Iowa Department of Transportation officials believe they will be successful in their second attempt to obtain a passenger railway from Iowa City to Chicago, the Daily Iowan reports. After taking in feedback from last year's denied application, the department is adding a new project to gain funding from the Federal Railroad Administration. The application is due Aug. 6.
While there have been no
fundamental changes made to the application, the Iowa Department of
Transportation has added Eola Yard – additional track space to clear up train
congestion near Aurora, Ill. This is also expected to increase the cost.
Another change from the
2009 process is that this time, 20 percent of the funding must come from the Iowa
and Illinois – something both states have committed to – and 80 percent will be
doled out by the federal government.
Their first attempt in
2009, estimated to cost $256 million, failed because of the high volume of
competition all vying for the same $8 billion from the Recovery and
Reinvestment Act.
Tammy Nicholson, the
director of the Office of Rail Transportation at the Iowa Department of
Transportation, estimates at least $55 billion in Federal Railroad
Administration funding requests came in from more than 30 states in 2009.
Although competition will
remain stiff this year, $2.5 billion of federal money will be spent in fiscal
2011, and of that, $2.1 billion will be spent to fund hub-to-hub corridor
railway projects, similar to the one in Iowa City. This means the application
must be top-notch to receive funding.
"The [railroad
administration] has put out some new guidelines, causing some minor refinements
in the project," Nicholson said. "We have continued working on the
environmental clearances that are required for the project."
In 2009, the Iowa
Legislature appropriated $3 million for the project; amounts of $1.5 million in
fiscal 2011, $2 million in fiscal 2012, and $6.5 million in fiscal 2013 are
expected to help fund the passenger railway, Nicholson said.
The Iowa Legislature has
also put in a funding clause of a commitment of up to $20 million over a
four-year period to service the state match, she said.
If funded, annual
ridership is expected at 186,900 people, according to a 2008 Amtrak Feasibility
Report. These numbers are expected to increase when the next report is
released, Nicholson said.
Increased business
development, increased property values, and increased tourism are just a few
benefits Iowa City might see, said Kelly McCann, the director of communications
at the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce.
"So far, we’ve had a lot
of enthusiasm from residents, and we have the support of our local delegation,"
McCann said. "The University of Iowa is obviously one of the largest supporters
– the main constituency would likely be students – we’ve heard a lot from
students who want to have this option."
