Chicago Freight Rail Bypass Gaining Steam, Founder Says
Proposed route would run from Brodhead, Wis. (top left) to Michigan City, Ind. (bottom right). maps.google.comBRODHEAD, Wis. — A privately funded $8 billion freight rail proposed to bypass Chicago and connect to an existing line in Rock County is gaining steam faster than the founder expected.
The line would increase rail traffic through Janesville and other parts of Rock County, transportation officials said.
While some observers are skeptical of the magnitude of the project, saying it'll take 10 years to get a permit, Great Lakes Basin founder Frank Patton said the clock is “moving around a lot faster than we would have even dreamed three months ago.”
While Patton and his team always felt it was a priority to build new rail lines to bypass Chicago's gridlock, they've found in the last few months that a lot of people in Washington, D.C., support the idea, too.
“They're not telling us, 'Do this, and when you get done, get a hold of us, and we'll figure out what's next,' " he said.
Instead, they're saying, “Get this done by this date,” he said. “There's a big difference.”
$8 billion Chicago freight rail bypass gaining steam, founder says. Could increase traffic in Rock Co. https://t.co/vRf115ywRP
— Gina Duwe (@GinaDuwe) December 7, 2015
Their current task brought Patton, President Jim Wilson and their design engineer Doug DeBerg to the Brodhead area last week to scout possible locations for the line.
The proposed project would start by connecting to the Wisconsin & Southern line just east of Brodhead and build new tracks straight south into Winnebago County, Illinois. The line would curve around Chicago and end in Michigan City, Indiana, on the shores of Lake Michigan.
While only a few of the 265 miles of the new track would be built in Wisconsin, the bypass has the potential to increase train traffic through Rock County, including Five Points in downtown Janesville.
Once paperwork is filed, the federal Surface Transportation Board would organize public meetings for people to comment on the project, Patton said. More details on the route would be available then, he said.
Patton and his team met with the Surface Transportation Board in September. An office within the board, the Office of Environmental Analysis, sent staff for a weeklong visit along the route in November.
“These kinds of site visits are common for projects that are in the proposal stage,” Dennis Watson, a spokesman for the Surface Transportation Board, wrote in an email. “They allow OEA personnel to become more familiar with the project location, including land use, sensitive resources, topography and other issues in anticipation of further environmental review.” Based on their experience, the OEA team offered general observations about issues that could potentially arise, he said.
Patton said the visit “went way beyond what I thought it would,” and his team left with a to-do list.
They are working to adjust the route in three areas — one being the Brodhead area — that include wetlands and a campground. They will submit the adjusted route to the Office of Environmental Analysis by Jan. 1. Soon after, Patton said, the notice of intent would be filed and sent to all federal, state and local agencies related to railroads in Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana.
The new rail line would connect to seven Class 1 railroads, which would use the route to avoid Chicago, where congestion can delay rail traffic up to 30 hours. The proposed project is designed to reduce that time to less than eight hours.
