A $102 million investment by Illinois along with federal funds from the Recovery Act will pay for double-tracking and a new rail bridge to enable 109 mph service on a key section of Amtrak's Chicago to St. Louis high speed rail corridor.
This particular corridor was the first of many listed by Time's Michael Grunwald last month in the post, "Responding to Distorted Criticisms of the President's High Speed Rail Program," that illustrated results of the president's ambitious high speed rail stimulus program in response to false claims by critics that the program is a failure.
"A key swath of the high-speed rail line between Chicago and St. Louis is set to get $102 million in upgrades, Gov. Pat Quinn announced on Sunday (August 31)," writes Matt McKinney of the Chicago Sun-Times.
The two-year project will reduce travel times between Chicago and St. Louis from five-and-a-half hours to four-and-a-half hours, Quinn said in a written statement..
The work will be performed by the Union Pacific Railroad and overseen by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), according to IDOT news [PDF]. Amtrak's Illinois Service operates on the corridor.
"This double-tracking [between downstate Mazonia and Elwood] will then allow more daily round-trips at increased 110-mph speeds. Trains now travel at 110 mph between Dwight and Pontiac," adds McKinney.
A map [PDF] of the route and multi-media are available on IDOT's High Speed Rail project page.
"The state has committed $358.8 million to the Chicago-St. Louis route, with the remainder of the $1.7 billion project federally funded," notes McKinney.
[Hat tip to Adam Snider of Politico for including the article in Tuesday's Morning Transportation].
FULL STORY: Quinn announces $102 million investment for high-speed rail
Higher Speeds from St. Louis to Chicago Delayed Again for Amtrak
Long awaited improvements on the Amtrak route between Chicago and St. Louis are being delayed again, this time because of trouble installing positive train control (PTC).
Faster Chicago to St. Louis Trains Likely to Increase Car Traffic
Next year, trains traveling at up to 110 mph will speed through grade crossings faster than the current trains traveling at up to 79 m.p.h, and motorists need to prepare for crossing gates that will stay down up to three times longer.
Chicago-St. Louis Corridor Trains Cleared for 110-mph Speeds
Amtrak has final federal approval for train speeds of 110 miles per hour between Joliet and Alton, culminating almost ten years of planning and investing.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association