CHICAGO: Transit Developments

[emathias]

Originally Posted by arenn

A freight only airport in Will County makes no sense. The competition shouldn't be looked at isn't O'Hare, but other airports in jurisdictions where you have lower costs and taxes. If it makes sense to locate in Will County instead of O'hare, why not Indianapolis? Even cheaper with less congested highways.

Incidentally, many if not most Midwest airports are already aggressively looking at air freight, hoping to peel away some of the specialty carriers from O'Hare. St. Louis plans a big push I know. Detroit and Memphis both have grand dreams of "aerotropolis".

Chicago still rules in intermodel capacity and experience, though, which isn't to be underestimated. I mean, if Illinois adds a few lanes of truck highway capacity in proximity to Peotone, sells proximity of the airport to the hub of the national rail system but with lower costs than O'Hare, it could kill off any serious competition from other low-cost locations even if it isn't the absolute lowest-cost cargo airport. Just being significantly cheaper than O'Hare could help keep logistics companies in Chicago instead of forcing them to expand operations in other states.

There are a lot of industries Chicago can live without, commodity industries like the stockyards and steel, but transportation is special. Keeping the advantage in transportation reaps a lot more for the area than just the direct income.

To be sure, I think passenger operations at Peotone is absolutely a bad idea, but IF there is a need - present or forseeable future - for a cheaper alternative for cargo operations, then Peotone might make sense (although I'd rather see Illinois invest in expanding Rockford's airport and maybe saving Illinois' second-biggest metro area than create a brand new airport and further stretch out the metro area).

[arenn]

Nobody disputes Chicago's dominance in rail and intermodal. But how many people are going to ship something from overseas by air to Chicago, then transfer it to a train? I'm not the ultimate expert in logistics, but this sounds like a dubious use case.

[ardecila]

They're not. The intermodal yards exist to transfer goods from trucks to trains and vice versa. The airport would exist to transfer goods from planes to trucks and vice versa. The two systems would only be tangentially related, but Will County wants to co-locate them because both types of facilities would take advantage of the potential employees and infrastructure that Will County already has.

It also allows trucking companies to build centralized depots that can handle both types of cargo, which is a huge efficiency boost for them.

[Mr Downtown]

I can't understand if the article is talking about the long-discussed Peotone/Lincoln International site, or if it's talking about a completely new airport proposal at the old arsenal site, adjacent to the big BNSF intermodal project there. The two things are a long way apart.

[bnk]

I think it is the long-discussed Peotone/Lincoln International site. It seems that they are justifying it by starting it out as an intermodal cargo airport to get it off of the ground.

[Dr. Taco]

i'm getting impatient for the new el cars on the blue line and red line. when are they supposed to start going out again?

[ardecila]

The first set was manufactured this summer. They should be showing up on the CTA network for testing very soon, provided that CTA is making their payments on time.

[Busy Bee]

And we still dont have a single confirmed design rendering or factory spy shot?

[ChicagoChicago]

Originally Posted by ardecila

The first set was manufactured this summer. They should be showing up on the CTA network for testing very soon, provided that CTA is making their payments on time.

I thought testing was supposed to begin 1st quarter 2009.

[VivaLFuego]

Originally Posted by ChicagoChicago

I thought testing was supposed to begin 1st quarter 2009.

Though the contract was approved in June 2006, it wasn't signed actaully until October 2006, with Notice-to-Proceed either Q4 2006 or Q1 2007. That would put prototype delivery at around Q4 2009, contractually speaking. I think the unusally large time gap between contract approval and actual signature is just due to the immensity of the contract ($900+ million) and the resulting insurance/bonding requirements, ownership/ethics disclosures of the prime and multitude of sub-contractors, and so forth.

A large downside accompanies missing this winter for trial and evaluations. If the prototypes aren't delivered in time for this winter, then realistically the full order couldn't start delivery until mid-2011 at the earliest since winter testing is absolutely vital.

[VivaLFuego]

One random note on an upcoming CTA project that has received little publicity: renovation of Cermak-Chinatown on the Red Line. The primary purpose of the project is a reconstruction of the Cermak stationhouse to repair damage from the truck crash a couple years ago and add an elevator to make the station ADA compliant. However, an added bonus is that in order to aid in construction phasing, CTA will construct an auxiliary entrance on the north side of the station at Archer, which will make the station more attractive to: (a) some South Loopers (b) shoppers heading to and from the China Place/Chinatown Square mall, (c) riders transferring from the #62.

Project is mostly funded with Stimulus/ARRA money.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

And we still dont have a single confirmed design rendering or factory spy shot?

There have been factory spy shots, they just haven't made their way to the internet. I heard somewhere that First & Fastest magazine has photos of the cars rolling out of Bombardier's factory in New York.

[Busy Bee]

Well if anyone is a ShoreLine member, maybe you scan and post a pic???

[Chicago Shawn]

Originally Posted by VivaLFuego

One random note on an upcoming CTA project that has received little publicity: renovation of Cermak-Chinatown on the Red Line. The primary purpose of the project is a reconstruction of the Cermak stationhouse to repair damage from the truck crash a couple years ago and add an elevator to make the station ADA compliant. However, an added bonus is that in order to aid in construction phasing, CTA will construct an auxiliary entrance on the north side of the station at Archer, which will make the station more attractive to: (a) some South Loopers (b) shoppers heading to and from the China Place/Chinatown Square mall, (c) riders transferring from the #62.

Project is mostly funded with Stimulus/ARRA money.

Well that explains why the station still has not been fixed after the accident. I will be looking forwrd to the auxillary entrance, as I go to the north end of China Town (specifically China Town Square) more frequently than the traditional corridor on Wentworth. The new entrance will also beter serve the Imperial Court Hotel, should it ever start construction.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

Well if anyone is a ShoreLine member, maybe you scan and post a pic???

I found this pic on Google... no larger size.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by VivaLFuego

...
However, an added bonus is that in order to aid in construction phasing, CTA will construct an auxiliary entrance on the north side of the station at Archer, ...

I'm glad to see I apparently wasn't the only one writing them to request that ...

When's it set to start?

[2PRUROCKS!]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

I can't understand if the article is talking about the long-discussed Peotone/Lincoln International site, or if it's talking about a completely new airport proposal at the old arsenal site, adjacent to the big BNSF intermodal project there. The two things are a long way apart.

It won't be on the old Joliet arsenal site. That land is completelly divided up between Center Point, BNSF, a land fill and Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. The latter takes up the vast majority of the land (over 19,000 acres out of 26,000) and is where I work. The only other possibility that might involve Army land is the Joliet Army Training site just north of the old arsenal, but I doubt that it is going there.

[bnk]

"Seeks" I wonder how long it takes to "seek" 300M?




http://www.illinois.gov/PressRelease...=1&RecNum=7845

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2009



CREATE Program Seeks $300 Million TIGER Grant

Projects Lead to Thousands of New Jobs, Economic & Environmental Benefits, Congestion Relief


CHICAGO –The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) today announced it is seeking $300 million in federal stimulus funds for a package of 16 projects that are part of the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) Program. CREATE is a first-of-its-kind partnership, bringing together Illinois DOT, the Chicago Department of Transportation and the Association of American Railroads (AAR). Illinois DOT is eligible for the funding under the federal Transportation Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program established in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In addition to the $300 million being sought via the federal TIGER grant, CREATE partners also have committed to an additional 39 percent match in funding – $117.4 million in state and private monies – for the program of projects outlined in the application.


....

[bnk]

dup

[arenn]

Hi - part three of my Chicago transit series. Thanks to whomever it was here a few weeks back who posted the links about the New Bundang Line:

http://theurbanophile.blogspot.com/2...reat-part.html