SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representative Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13) today announced $157,126,494 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for the final segment of the Springfield Rail Improvements Project (SRIP).
The project is an effort to separated railroad tracks from regular vehicle traffic to reduce congestion, and also create a series of overpasses and underpasses.
“The Springfield Rail Improvements Project is revitalizing our downtown by reconnecting our community, reducing rail noise and enhancing public safety. It’s also creating good-paying union jobs along the way,” said Budzinski. “I’m honored to join Senators Durbin and Duckworth to announce $157 million in federal funding to complete the final phase of this important work. This investment and the new 1908 Springfield Race Riot National Monument along the project’s route will honor our history and build a bright future for our city.”
This phase of the SRIP includes rail improvements, track realignment, and the construction of a new Amtrak Station in Springfield. This project will complete the final segment of track realignment to consolidate the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern corridors into one multitrack corridor through the city, which will advance the efforts to provide a higher speed intercity passenger rail connection between St. Louis and Chicago.
In addition to various track improvements and grade crossing separations, the project will also construct a Multimodal Transportation Center to improve public transportation connectivity among intercity passenger rail, local bus service, and intercity bus service.
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