Develop a unified regional approach for freight transportation issues

Our region’s freight network depends on careful, well-funded investment to ensure economic prosperity here and nationally. Coordinating regional action to obtain and prioritize new federal dollars for freight infrastructure is especially critical. CMAP and its partners have developed a strong regional voice on freight, working to address truck permitting issues, advocating for federal funds, and building coalitions to implement major projects such as the 75^th St. CIP. CMAP and its partners should continue this momentum to change federal, state, and local policies and support coordinated investment in the region’s freight network.

In 2017, CMAP’s Regional Strategic Freight Direction established a programming framework to define the best use of limited capital funds for freight.^{{{Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, “Regional Strategic Freight Direction,” February 2018, https://cmap.illinois.gov/wp-content/uploads/FINAL-Regional-Strategic-Freight-Direction-with-cover_2-6-18.pdf.}}} It is especially timely given the growing federal and state emphasis on freight infrastructure needs. Enacted in late 2015, the current federal transportation law, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, provides the first-ever dedicated funding for freight improvements.^{{{Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, “Congress passes transportation reauthorization bill,” December 4, 2015, http://cmap.is/1lBWD16.}}} This program is currently referred to by the U.S. DOT as the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program, and it and other competitive federal programs offer significant resources to support large, complex projects with broad impact on speeds and volumes of goods movement. Regional consensus and action have the potential to attract broader investment; the U.S. DOT looks favorably on projects with broad regional support, and by limiting the number of proposals submitted by metropolitan Chicago and Illinois, our region and state can increase the likelihood of success. Released this year, the Illinois Department of Transportation Freight Plan identifies the major bottlenecks across the state, including those in northeastern Illinois.^{{{Illinois Department of Transportation, “Illinois Department of Transportation Freight Plan,” October 2017, http://www.idot.illinois.gov/Assets/uploads/files/Transportation-System/Reports/OP%26P/ILFreightPlan_FINAL.pdf.}}} IDOT’s recently released competitive freight program makes strides to improve performance-based evaluation of freight project applications across the state.