U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) secured commitments for several key Illinois and national projects during a recent Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation hearing.
“I’m glad these transportation leaders are committed to working with me on critical Illinois transportation initiatives, like advancing the Chicago-Quad Cities passenger rail project, improving Amtrak’s on-time performance, ending roadway deaths by 2050 and expediting the DOT report on expanding the TIFIA program to include eligible airport-related projects,” Duckworth said. “These initiatives are critical to making Illinois’ transportation systems safer and more reliable, and I look forward to working with these administrators to make sure they are completed as quickly as possible.”
The Chicago to Quad-Cities line has been a decades-long attempt that has nevertheless seen recent gains. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Administrator Ronald Batory will have surely advanced those efforts when, during the hearing, he agreed to give stakeholders the flexibility to finalize agreements necessary for progression. He further aided Duckworth’s constituency with a commitment to involve the FRA more heavily in resolving the delays with Amtrak’s Saluki line, which has seen signal activation issues and performance troubles.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Administrator Raymond Martinez and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Deputy Administrator Heidi King both agreed to continue to support a general goal of eliminating roadway deaths by 2050. Joel Szabat, assistant secretary for Aviation and International Affairs at the Office of the Secretary of Transportation, also agreed to finalize a Department of Transportation report on the benefits of expanding the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) to eligible airport-associated projects, officially submitting to legislation passed last year.