North Cook News

The city of Decatur will receive $10 million in federal dollars to build a roadway overpass over a railroad crossing that blocks traffic for up to 17 hours a week. 

According to WAND TV News, the investment will be used help launch a $75 million project to develop a Brush College Road overpass at Faries Parkway and the Norfolk Southern Railroad. This new overpass will isolate the tracks from regular vehicle traffic, mitigating congestion in the area. The railroad crossing currently averages roughly 200 trains a week with train crossings blocking traffic for 17 hours while creating congestion and delaying first responders. This project is part of a plan to reconstruct a 1.2-mile stretch of Brush College Road to improve safety and capacity near major regional employers ADM and Primient. 

“This project has been a long time coming, with the city, Macon County, and business and labor partners joining together to make this a priority,” Decatur Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe said, according to WAND TV. “Thanks to Gov. Pritzker and IDOT Secretary Osman, this grant bridges the funding gap and turns this priority into a reality. From the union workers who will build this, to the plant workers in our industrial sector, to students at Richland, along with new business that are building here, our community will benefit greatly from this overpass, and we can’t wait to see it completed.” 

The money is part of nearly $200 million in investments that will go toward 22 projects designed to improve freight transport across Illinois. Gov. J.B. Pritzker joined with state and local leaders along with the Illinois Department of Transportation on March 30 to announce the funding.

“For the last four years, we’ve invested billions of dollars in communities across Illinois to restore and renew all modes of transportation throughout our state: roads, bridges, airports, and transit, as well as pedestrian and bike routes. And today, I’m proud to announce yet another leap forward — nearly $200 million for the freight routes that have defined Illinois for generations,” Pritzker said, according to WAND TV News.