KBIA Local
(2010-01-28)
ST. LOUIS, MO
(KBIA) -
High speed travel between St. Louis and Chicago is one step closer to reality. Missouri's and Illinois's Transportation Departments received $1.1 billion in federal grants today to construct a high speed rail between the major cities. Although the White House bills the predicted 110 mph speeds as "high speed rail," the trains will not match speeds seen in Europe and Asia. An additional $31 million will go towards improving the rail service efficiency between St. Louis and Kansas City.
The White House awarded a total of $8 billion dollars in grants today. Some Democrats are calling a national rail-building program that could rival the interstate highways begun in the Eisenhower era. President Obama predicts the program will create or save thousands of jobs.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon says high speed rail investments in Missouri and Illinois will be a significant jolt to the Midwest economy both in the short and long term. Nixon was in St. Louis today to announce the federal stimulus funds for track improvements between St. Louis and Kansas City. While Nixon did acknowledge that high speed commuter service to Kansas City is still a ways off, there are improvements that could make the trip faster.
"There are some bottlenecks along the way, we have places where it squeezes down to one track, we'll double those up. We still have some crossovers that stop traffic, that means that sometimes the trains have to slow down; we hope to put overpasses over those."
A spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Transportation says a double-track bridge over the Osage River will be one of the biggest time savers.
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