USDOT awards $100 million for CREATE rail projects

The Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency program (CREATE) will receive $100 million in stimulus funds for 16 rail projects, according to an announcement today by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT).  CREATE is a public-private partnership between railroads and Transportation agencies to ease congestion related to freight.  The funding from USDOT's TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) program will also have truly national benefits due to metropolitan Chicago's status as the leading U.S. freight rail hub.  This was the largest TIGER award in the Midwest and the second largest nationally.  The top three awards all are for freight-related projects.  CREATE leaders estimate that the stimulus grant will cut rail transit delays by 57,631 passenger hours per year and reduce motorist delays by 344,499 hours annually, supporting 1,087 jobs through the projects' completion in 2012.  The grant is among $1.5 billion awarded nationally through TIGER.  Read more at the Chicago Tribune.