CHICAGO: Transit Developments

[Busy Bee]

Considering runways are like 3 feet thick, I don't see settling being an issue.

[K 22]

What's the latest on Washington/Wabash? Is that still on schedule?

[J_M_Tungsten]

Not sure if there is a more appropriate thread, but I caught an overview of the progress on I-355 on a return flight today. What a difference the westbound ramp has made. Looking forward to the completion of this project in the future.

[Mr Downtown]

^I think you mean SR-390, the Elgin-O'Hare Expwy. View is looking north at the I-290 interchange in Itasca.

[J_M_Tungsten]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

^I think you mean SR-390, the Elgin-O'Hare Expwy. View is looking north at the I-290 interchange in Itasca.

Oops you are correct Mr. D. Late night post. Mind must not have been working at full capacity.

[Chi-Sky21]

Originally Posted by J_M_Tungsten

Oops you are correct Mr. D. Late night post. Mind must not have been working at full capacity.

It's ok. anyone from south of there calls it 355. I constantly get confused looks from friends who live up by schaumburg when i say 355 instead of 290.

[BVictor1]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...318-story.html

Feds, public to hear plan to reduce rail congestion around Chicago

Becky YerakContact Reporter
Chicago Tribune
03/21/16

A proposed 278-mile rail line billed as relief for freight and traffic congestion in the Chicago area is getting a hearing next month from a federal regulator, even as one potential customer said it's not interested.

The Surface Transportation Board, an arm of the U.S. Department of Transportation, has scheduled public meetings in April to get input on the three-state proposal, partly due to its potential for "significant environmental impacts."

Its developer, Great Lakes Basin Transportation, hasn't publicly divulged its funding sources, but said it envisions the privately financed freight rail project to run in relatively sparsely populated areas from near La Porte, Ind., to Milton, Wis., and to connect with existing major railroads.

[ardecila]

This seems like a pipe dream. How come these guys can access $8B of private capital when all seven Class I railroads put together can't do it?

[jpIllInoIs]

^^
I am dubious about the "private" funding of this project. Historically RR's got their start with free federal land rights. How will they purchase all of this property and then construct and then still need to charge Class I RR's high tariffs to use it.

The big 7 Class I RR's dont want and wont pay for it. CN has the EJE byass which they spent better than 500 Mil on acquisition and upgrades. BNSF has a route from Savannah, IL to Smithboro, IL which they have sent $$ on to upgrades. NS has just finished upgrading the Kankakee Line-Streator to Schnieder, In to Griffith, IN. And the CREATE projects on the Belt Corridor improvements are almost all complete.

Most annoying is that this type of project doesn't even acknowledge WHY the 7 Class I RR meet in Chicago - To interchange carloads and redirect to the end users. And they do that at the appx 22 Railyards in and around the city and suburbs.

I would rather see the 75th St corridor project get funded. It would benefit commuters & intercity passenger travel and develop the demand for logistics jobs in the now abandoned south side manufacturing districts. Much like the recent Pullman development with Whole Foods and Method and the ongoing reemergence of the Stock Yards as a distribution center.

[orulz]

They are probably planning on using FRA RRIF guarantees to backstop the risk of building such a project, so private companies putting up the dough to build it would be well insulated and be almost guaranteed to at worst break even.

[aaron38]

https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/2016...tting-overhaul

'Dangerous' Lincoln, Ashland, Belmont Intersection Getting Overhaul
By Ariel Cheung | March 30, 2016 5:40am

LAKEVIEW — One of Chicago's most dangerous intersections is getting a long-awaited overhaul in the coming years.

City officials unveiled plans for a major road project at the intersection of Lincoln, Ashland and Belmont avenues during a public meeting Tuesday.

Geared toward improving safety and enhancing the pedestrian experience, the project would shorten crosswalks, straighten Ashland Avenue and eliminate dangerous left turns, according to the Chicago Department of Transportation.

Looks great. I'm on Belmont quite often going to Stage 773, and that intersection sucks for pedestrians.

[Kngkyle]

Why we need to pay a much higher gas tax

....

Now someone is proposing to do something about it. The cost would be huge, but then so is the need.

In a presentation to the City Club today, the Metropolitan Planning Council will unveil a 10-year, $43 billion plan to provide more money for state and local roads, public transportation, the Create freight-rail decongestion plan and as yet unspecified “new and large-scale projects of all types.” In other words, funds for mostly deferred maintenance that are not available from current revenue sources.

To pay for it, the council would impose a 30-cents-a-gallon hike in motor fuel taxes, more than double today's state tax of 19 cents a gallon on gasoline, and a 50 percent hike in the state's vehicle registration fees, which now cost $101 for a car or truck. Both would be indexed to inflation in the future.

....

Since 1991, the average amount a person pays in Illinois gas tax has dropped 40 percent, even as construction costs have risen. The portion of roads in good shape has dropped from 90 percent a decade ago to 79 percent now and is on track to hit 62 percent by 2021. And only two-thirds of Chicago Transit Authority and Metra equipment and facilities are in good repair.

....

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...infrastructure

[OhioGuy]

City's bike lane expansion continues
WGNtv.com | POSTED 5:25 PM, APRIL 11, 2016, BY SEAN LEWIS

(above link includes a video news story)

Mayor Emanuel’s plan to expand the city's bike lane network continues.

It's now up to 290 miles in all 50 wards.

Chicago's transportation commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld today touted the latest protected bike lanes along 31st, from Michigan to LaSalle, as a clear sign of our changing commuting needs.

“This will be an emphasis of strengthen the connectivity of our bike network,” she said. “These curb protected bike lanes provide better separation from people riding bikes and people driving. They also reduce illegal parking and driving in the bike lanes and improve the esthetics of the roadway.”

This year, the city will get an additional 9.5 miles of protected bike lanes. The city's budgeted up to $6 million to improve and add bike lanes for 2016.

[ardecila]

I understand why the city keeps mum about the locations of new bike lanes, but it is frustrating as an armchair planner.

Sadly the parking meter lease really constrains where the city can put in this type of infrastructure... They can't convert paid parking spots to bike lanes without finding alternate spaces somewhere else, so the only way to put in protected bike lanes is to convert a travel lane and do a road diet. Which is just fine if it's done intelligently...

[Pink Jazz]

Looks like Bombardier is protesting the award for the 7000-series cars to CSR:
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...oreUserAgent=1

[ardecila]

This is such BS. Even if CSR "improperly underbid", whatever that means, I think most Chicagoans would agree that bringing decent jobs to the South Side is just as important, or more important, than saving a few million on the railcar purchase.

Also, if the Chinese government wants to subsidize the production of railcars at a cost that is uneconomical, that's not CTA's or Chicago's problem. We should happily take the cheap railcars and do what's right for Chicago taxpayers and CTA riders. Who knows, maybe the Chinese even have some efficient manufacturing techniques that Bombardier doesn't. China's built hundreds of miles of sleek, efficient new rail systems, maybe they know something. I don't see any reason why CTA should indulge the uncompetitive business model of a Canadian company just because they built the last round of railcars.

It's obvious why CSR, Wanda and other Chinese state-owned businesses want to invest here. The domestic gravy train is coming to a halt in China and there are better returns to be made in the US, even if they have to take a haircut on the first few deals to get their foot in the door. The Japanese did the same thing to enter the US auto and electronics markets, and the increased competition made American consumers better off. The railcar industry isn't nearly as big as those two industries, thankfully, so we're not talking about something that will cause massive job loss.


TL;DR Tough break, Bombardier. Sorry about the loss, bro. Maybe next time.

[Citylover94]

CNR did the same thing to get the Boston Orange and Red Line bid so I think there business plan is to underbid and pick up a few big contracts to get established and build a reputation then start bidding at more normal prices after this first round.

[Via Chicago]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Who knows, maybe the Chinese even have some efficient manufacturing techniques that Bombardier doesn't.

Oh, they do.

(I understand in that case it was Bombardier using Chinese parts, but nevertheless)

Originally Posted by Citylover94

CNR did the same thing to get the Boston Orange and Red Line bid so I think there business plan is to underbid and pick up a few big contracts to get established and build a reputation then start bidding at more normal prices after this first round.

Exactly.

[Kngkyle]

All in favor of the Chinese subsidizing our mass transit system?

I.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Citylover94

CNR did the same thing to get the Boston Orange and Red Line bid so I think there business plan is to underbid and pick up a few big contracts to get established and build a reputation then start bidding at more normal prices after this first round.

Yeah, it's interesting that CSR/CNR also committed to a factory in Springfield, MA for the MBTA railcar assembly. That's a huge amount of capital to set up two different US factories.

Even if China does get their foot in the door of the US rail industry, there isn't really enough demand to support two Chinese factories in the US. You have 1, maybe 2 large railcar orders per year, and even those are heavily contingent on whether Congress is feeling ornery or not.

Of course, that could change if the Chinese actually start bankrolling rail projects directly...