http://www.sj-r.com/high-speed-rail/...wide-rail-push
Joliet center part of statewide rail push
By TIM LANDIS
THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
Posted Sep 16, 2009 @ 11:30 PM
Last update Sep 17, 2009 @ 06:04 AM
JOLIET —
Springfield’s concerns with high-speed rail service and increased freight train traffic are part of a much larger rail-improvement push in Illinois involving hundreds of millions in state and federal dollars.
The biggest push, by far, is in the Chicago region.
The Union Pacific Railroad broke ground this month on the $370 million Joliet Intermodal Terminal, which promises to create 6,900 to 7,400 full-time jobs and an increase in annual freight capacity equivalent to 500,000 cargo-ship-sized containers.
As plans stand, some of that increased freight traffic would use the Third Street corridor in downtown Springfield.
“Right now, there’s probably about 2,000 tradespeople out there working. There’s probably more earth-moving machines on that property than any project in the Midwest,” said John Greuling, president and CEO of the Will County Center for Economic Development.
Greuling said the Will County group first learned of the Union Pacific construction about four years ago, though the goal of making Joliet a hub for one of the nation’s largest “inland ports” is part of much more ambitious long-term plan.
“We are marketing ourselves as part of the global supply chain. … It’s a pretty aggressive plan we’ve been working on for eight years,” said Greuling, who added that six other major rail carriers will use the Joliet facility.
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About the Union Pacific Joliet Intermodal Terminal
* Estimated cost: $370 million; joint project of the UP and CenterPoint Properties, a California-based investment company that specializes in development of industrial real estate and transportation projects.
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Location: 785 acres five miles south of Interstate 80 and seven miles east of Interstate 55.
* Construction schedule: First phase scheduled for completion in June 2010. Facility then will expand based on demand.
* Capacity: Annual capacity equivalent to 500,000 ocean-going containers; four 8,000-foot tracks capable of handling 107 “double-stack” rail cars; six 8,000-foot tracks to sort cars by destination; six tracks in a car staging area; more than 3,400 parking spaces for trailers and containers; four cranes and two mobile-packers to load and unload freight cars.
Source: Union Pacific; city of Joliet.
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