CREATE: Past, Present, and Future

• February 21, 2006

Almost everywhere you look, the movement of freight across the Chicago region is being stalled, sidetracked or otherwise delayed by an assortment of bottlenecks, most the result of overloaded or obsolete road and rail systems.

Moving freight across the Chicago region by rail – a passage made by nearly a third of the nation's total rail shipments – typically takes two days or more, with train speeds averaging between 6.8 and 12 m.p.h. Cross-regional truck speeds, now in the 10 to 15 m.p.h. range, have also been in decline, especially along the Interstate 80, 94 and 294 corridors, portions of which are loaded beyond capacity most weekdays.

But it is not just freight shipments that are being delayed by mile-long back-ups of tractor-trailers at tollbooths and interchanges, or by trains blocking too many of the region's 1,953 at-grade crossings. This is everybody's headache. Freight system hang-ups, for instance, contribute to unreasonably long automobile commuting times in the region, which have been cited as the third worst in the nation.

At stake, then, is not just the future of an $8 billion regional shipping industry that employs 117,000 Chicagoans with an annual payroll of $3.2 billion. Freight problems affect the daily lives of all eight million of us who live and work in northeastern Illinois , whether the impact is measured in excess commuting time, worsened levels of air pollution, missed school classes and business appointments or delayed shipments to businesses.

And yet, while the Chicago region's need for additional airport capacity has been debated extensively in public and governmental forums, little attention has been paid, outside shipping industry circles, to the problems of our freight network. It was this lack of awareness that prompted Business Leaders for Transportation, which represents more than 10,000 employers across the Chicago region, to get involved with CREATE, the Chicago Regional Environmental and Transportation Efficiency project.

Once upon a snowstorm, CREATE is born
CREATE’s formation begins in early 1999, when 2 ½ feet of snow and 16-below-zero temperatures paralyzed Chicago ’s freight rail service. Even though rail congestion had become an increasing problem for Chicago , nothing exposed its rail network’s weakness quite like the blizzard of 1999. Three months passed before trains were up to full speed.

In response, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) created the Chicago Planning Group (CPG), whose members represent each of the Class I freight railroads servicing the Chicago region. CPG studied potential rail improvements should future disruptions arise; but lacking adequate evaluation techniques, its plans stalled. Subsequently, CPG commissioned the development of a computer model to simulate freight and passenger traffic in Chicago .

In late 1999, however, before delivery of a computer model, CPG created the Chicago Transportation Coordination Office (CTCO) to resolve operational problems without capital expenditures. Improved coordination and cooperation among the railroads did much to reduce delays, but CTCO recognized that maximizing freight movement in Chicago would require the construction and reconfiguration of railroad track, and necessarily, a significant capital investment.

The much-needed computer simulation of Chicago ’s rail network arrived in 2002, providing CTCO the necessary tool for analysis. Simulations pointed out congestion prone-areas that contribute to overall system inefficiencies. More importantly, though, the model illustrated how specific changes to the existing system would affect the entire rail network.

In 2003, when working groups decided on a set of changes agreeable to all parties, the Illinois and Chicago departments of transportation (IDOT, CDOT) – project partners from early on – signed off on a revised plan, the Chicago Regional Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Project — aka CREATE.

As CREATE provides local, regional, and national benefits for the economy and the environment – as well as important savings for infrastructure spending – project partners are targeting all levels of government to secure funding. CREATE’s backers had hoped to secure the largest chunk of funding, $900 million, in the 2005 federal transportation bill, but any hopes of fulfilling this goal must wait until 2009, when the next federal transportation bill rolls around. In this bill, CREATE received only $100 million in federal funding.

Despite a substantial funding gap, CREATE’s inclusion in the transportation bill signals a historic shift for U.S. transportation funding. For the first time, a national freight rail venture is a recipient of federal aid.

Why CREATE Matters
As the nation’s rail hub, Chicago accommodates 37,500 railcars on 2,796 miles of track daily. The number of railcars is expected to increase to 67,000 per day by 2020, however, and existing rail infrastructure will be unable to cope with future demands.

In fact, present demands tax Chicago ’s rail system to its limit. Freight and passenger rail manage to coexist on shared track, but mounting delays pose the threat of freight rail’s opting for the highway. But even this may be an unviable option. The resulting demands on local roads and highways would overwhelm existing infrastructure while adding to road congestion and dirtying our air.

The CREATE Feasibility Plan maintains that with multiplier effects, failure to complete CREATE would entail the loss of 5 million jobs nationwide, $782 billion in output, and $217 billion in annual wages associated with Chicago’s rail network. Additionally, delays to Metra, Northeast Illinois ’ commuter rail, may force people onto the highway, stressing an already burdened system.

It comes as no surprise that the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC), includes CREATE as an important objective in its 2040 Regional Framework Plan . NIPC, the official comprehensive planning agency for Chicago ’s six-county metropolitan region, endorses CREATE as necessary for relieving the freight bottleneck that approaches a crisis stage.

Winning Support
As a recipient of federal dollars, CREATE must comply with provisions under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA requires that agencies receiving federal dollars consider alternatives and mitigation measures that would lessen a project’s environmental impact. Additionally, this information must be made available to affected persons and organizations before actions are taken.

CREATE's planners are raising the bar for innovation in NEPA assessment. Due to its numerous component projects of differing environmental significance, planners devised a new NEPA compliant environmental impact measure that accelerates project completion. The Systematic, Project, Expediting, Environmental Decision Making strategy (SPEED) allows work to begin on low-risk projects, while environmentally significant projects receive routine analysis. Traditional NEPA assessment would require that all projects receive a thorough environmental assessment, but because many of CREATE's component projects are environmentally insignificant; the SPEED strategy eliminates such redundancies .

At an Oct. 20, 2005, joint meeting of the Illinois Senate’s transportation and economic development committees, John Schwalbach, bureau chief of railroads for IDOT’s Public and Intermodal Transportation Division, commented on the environmental assessment progress to date.

“IDOT, together with its CREATE partners, had selected several key projects within the CREATE program to initiate preliminary engineering work. This work encompasses roughly 30 percent of the project design. The most critical component advanced in this process is the environmental documentation for each individual project. Meeting this federal NEPA requirement is an important step as we move forward. I can report to you today that significant progress on this key element is being made … Two public meetings were held, one in Chicago and one in Blue Island, informing the public of the overall CREATE program and inviting their comments … In short, the CREATE program is moving forward in anticipation of future funding, providing a solid base from which this program will advance. ”

CREATE’s full implementation depends on future funding. The project has received $100 million from the federal transportation bill and private partners have pledged to contribute significant amounts. But CREATE still needs $300 million from state or other sources; the next state capital bill will be a crucial funding source. With full funding, CREATE has a six-year start-to-finish schedule; because of funding uncertainties, it is unclear how the rail program will unfold. Planning for CREATE will continue, as Schwalbach notes, but as funding dries up, the program will stall.

A National Model
CREATE is a remarkable collaboration of the American Association of Railroads, Chicago Dept. of Transportation, Ill. Dept. of Transportation, and six rail companies: Burlington Northern Santa Fe; Canadian Pacific; CSX; Norfolk Southern; Union Pacific; and Canadian National. It is also the first time the railroad industry and government have worked together on a capital project.

With a project cost approaching $1.5 billion, the railroads’ $212 million commitment and Metra’s $20 million commitment attest to the fact that several parties will benefit from the rail improvements . Similarly, local, state and federal contributions reflect the direct and indirect benefits CREATE will have on the economy, infrastructure, and the environment at local, regional and national levels.

Current progress and the tremendous cooperation gone into CREATE support the notion that public-private partnerships can succeed in the planning and construction of capital projects. Furthermore, it recognizes that when projects mutually benefit public and private entities, the two can and should work together to ensure project completion.

If completed, CREATE will make travel easier, safer, and more efficient for freight and passenger rail in Chicago . Its goals are clear, measurable, and well designed to meet long-term goals. It will leverage the investment of private capital to build and operate transportation facilities, and it follows the recommendations of the region’s comprehensive planning agency. Indeed, CREATE is a significant step in making a more economically and environmentally viable region.


Related Links:
Business Leaders for Transportation’s “Critical Cargo: A Regional Freight Action Agenda for Jobs, Economic Growth, and Quality of Life in Metropolitan Chicago”
Official CREATE website
SAFETEA-LU details
Go21, a new advocacy coalition promoting freight rail funding 
Business Leaders for Transportation's "Guiding Principles for the Next State Capital Program"
Frequently Asked Questions for Governor Rod R. Blagojevich's Proposed Capital Package

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