Chicago City Wire

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is accepting public comments on its 2017 Freight Plan, which discusses the current state of freight movement in the state and lays out strategies to increase the system’s efficiency, according to a release from IDOT.

The 2017 Freight Plan, which is available for review and comment on IDOT's website, covers topics that affect how well freight moves through the state, including the import and export of goods, road congestion and workforce trends, the release said. The plan also covers improvements to make the freight transportation system more efficient.

More than 1 billion tons of freight move through Illinois every year via truck, plane, ship and rail, with the latter accounting for nearly half of all freight, the release said. The freight system moves goods that also go to destinations that include Asia, Europe, Africa and South America.

“Illinois serves as the transportation hub of North America. It’s important we have a reliable infrastructure system to support the freight industry, which moves nearly $3 trillion of goods into, out of and through Illinois each year,” IDOT Secretary Randy Blankenhorn said in the release. “The efficient movement of goods is a key driver for our state’s economic prosperity.”

IDOT said it is accepting public comment on the plan through Nov. 30.