Chicago City Wire

CHICAGO — Representatives Jesús “Chuy" García (IL-04) and Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03) as well as Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) on June 5,  announced $8 million in funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program for Franklin Park, Illinois, to complete project development and final design for a grade separation of Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and Kansas City Southern (KCS) tracks through the Village while closing one or more at-grade crossings. This project aims to provide a safer crossing for roadway users and improve supply chain fluidity on both the road and rail network, while also reducing negative impacts of freight movement on nearby communities. 

“A quarter of all the nation’s freight trains go through Chicagoland. Investments like this to improve rail crossings are crucial for the district I represent,” said García. “This project will make our infrastructure more resilient. It will make things safer and easier for people in Franklin Park and across the northwest suburbs who live with the daily reality of freight trains passing through their community.”

“Investing in our infrastructure is investing in the safety of our communities, and to me, the safety and wellbeing of the people who call IL-03 home will always come first,” said Ramirez. “That's why I look forward to seeing the responsible implementation of this necessary funding in Franklin Park to help protect nearby communities while improving roadway safety and efficiency. While we disagree with the Surface Transportation Board's decision to approve the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Kansas City Southern merger, this investment demonstrates our collective resolve to protect our neighborhoods and continuously work towards people-centered, rather than profit-driven, transportation infrastructure. I will continue working with the communities and local leaders to ensure that this funding helps address the concerns of my constituents.” 

“By enhancing crossings in Franklin Park, we will provide a safer passage for roadway users while bolstering the fluidity of our supply chains on both road and rail networks,” said Durbin. “This investment marks a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to public safety and improving our transportation infrastructure.”

“Thousands of trains move through the densely populated Chicago region every day, making rail safety critically important to our state,” Duckworth said. “Improvements to grade separations and crossings help decrease noise, reduce emergency response time and improve commuter rail operations, safety and the environment of our communities. I’m pleased to see the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law at work right here in Illinois, and I’ll keep working to make sure Illinois has the support it needs to make these necessary infrastructure improvements.”

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which García, Ramirez, Durbin, and Duckworth supported, created the Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program, which provides funding for highway-rail or pathway-rail grade crossing improvement projects that focus on improving the safety and mobility of people and goods.

Original source can be found here.