More federal dollars could be headed here, LaHood says

Area transit agencies were quick to produce ideas they hope are worthy of earning a share of $1.5 billion in federal grants announced by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Friday.

The grants for "cutting-edge" surface transportation capital projects could range from $20 million to $300 million and are aimed at promoting "greater mobility, a cleaner environment and more livable communities," LaHood said during a speech at the Union League Club of Chicago.

"I encourage this region to collaborate and compete," the former Peoria congressman said.

Two transit agencies already have ideas waiting in the wings.

Regional Transportation Authority officials will apply for money to pay for energy-efficient batteries for 1,500 CTA and Pace buses that would last longer than current models, communications director Diane Palmer said.

Pace intends to ask for funding for 10 hybrid buses to serve riders with disabilities, spokesman Patrick Wilmot said.

LaHood also promoted plans to spend $8 billion on high-speed rail projects. He said a high-speed rail corridor linking destinations in the Midwest such as Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Milwaukee and the Twin Cities was closer to reality than it had ever been.

"There's a pent-up demand for more efficient rail service in the Midwest," LaHood said, adding he was asking governors in the Midwest including Gov. Pat Quinn to appoint a high-speed rail czar to lead the effort.

LaHood backed the CREATE program, an effort to reduce freight congestion in Chicago, which has had a ripple effect on rail traffic elsewhere. CREATE is a massive public works project involving underpasses, new tracks and other construction. The plan is endorsed by local leaders, Metra and the railroad industry but because it's so costly, little has been done in terms of actual building.

LaHood hinted the project could be due for a funding infusion, saying "CREATE is a very, very high priority.

"It's got a great deal of merit. We'll work to do what we can to make it a reality."

Speaking to reporters, LaHood was asked about the merger of CN and the EJ&E Railway. With its purchase of the smaller EJ&E, which runs in a semicircle between Waukegan and Gary, Ind., the Canadian National Railway is putting more trains onto the "J." Both CN and the Surface Transportation Board, which approved the merger, said it would ease the Chicago bottleneck. But communities along the EJ&E such as Aurora and Barrington fought the transaction and have sued the government.

LaHood wouldn't comment on the issue or on a vacancy on the STB, saying it was a separate agency.

The $1.5 billion is part of the government's economic stimulus legislation passed in January.

LaHood noted his home state had received more than $935 million in funding but would not say how he would have voted on the legislation. Not one Republican in the House supported the bill.