Associated Press - October 6, 2009 4:34 AM ET
CHICAGO (AP) - A $26 million project meant to improve the flow of train traffic in south suburban Chicago has broken ground.
The partly federal-, partly private-funded project will add a third main line of rail track, update signals and do bridge construction in Blue Island and Alsip. It's slated for completion in 2010.
It's 1 of dozens of projects meant to ease train-traffic jams in Chicago, a major rail hub. All the projects, collectively known as CREATE, are expected to cost a total of more than $1.5 billion.
Currently, the hundreds of freight trains that pass through Chicago each day compete for access to tracks with 700 daily commuter trains. That means freight trains can end up taking more than a day to wind their way through Chicago.
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