Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE)

Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE)
Name	Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program
Abbreviation	CREATE
Location	Chicago metropolitan area, Illinois, United States
Type	Rail infrastructure program
Start	2003
Status	Ongoing
Participants	Amtrak; Metra; Canadian National; Canadian Pacific Kansas City; BNSF Railway; Union Pacific; Norfolk Southern; Illinois Department of Transportation; City of Chicago

Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE) The Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE) is a public–private partnership focused on improving rail infrastructure in the Chicago metropolitan area, United States. CREATE aims to reduce rail congestion, improve passenger Amtrak and Metra service reliability, and decrease air pollution associated with freight and passenger delays. The program coordinates multiple freight railroads, transit agencies, and governmental entities to implement more than 70 construction projects across the Cook County and surrounding counties.

Overview

CREATE is a consortium involving major North American railroads such as BNSF, Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, Canadian National, and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, together with passenger carriers Amtrak, Metra, and public agencies including the Illinois Department of Transportation and the City of Chicago. The program targets chokepoints that affect corridors connecting terminals like Chicago Union Station, Ogilvie Transportation Center, and intermodal hubs such as Bensenville and Corwith Yard. CREATE projects involve flyovers, grade separations, signal upgrades, and interlocking reconfigurations to improve throughput on national corridors including routes serving the BNSF Southern Transcon, Union Pacific North Line, and lines to the Port of Chicago.

History and Planning

CREATE originated from coordinated planning in the early 2000s when congestion in the Chicago rail hub became recognized as a national bottleneck by entities such as Federal Railroad Administration and the Association of American Railroads. Stakeholders negotiated memoranda of understanding and project lists drawing on studies by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and modeling work referencing the Freight Analysis Framework and federal modal plans. Early agreements mirrored cooperative models like the National Rail Freight Infrastructure Capacity and Investment Study and incorporated best practices from infrastructure initiatives including the Big Dig in Boston and interstate program lessons from the Interstate Highway System era. CREATE's framework formalized funding commitments, project prioritization, and governance mechanisms to align private railroad operational needs with public mobility goals.

Projects and Components

CREATE comprises a portfolio of over 70 discrete projects grouped into program-level components: junctions and flyovers (e.g., construction similar to the Englewood Flyover concept), corridor capacity improvements, terminal enhancements at Chicago Union Station and rail yards, grade separation projects at arterial crossings in neighborhoods like Pilsen and Garfield Park, and signal modernization aligned with Positive Train Control deployments. Notable components include flyovers that separate conflicting movements used by Amtrak intercity trains and BNSF Railway freight, reconfiguration of interlockings near CP 1234-style junctions, and grade crossing closures to improve freight access to the Port of Chicago and railyards such as Corwith Yard and Clearing Yard.

Funding and Governance

Funding combines federal grants (including competitive programs administered by the Federal Railroad Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation), state appropriations via the Illinois Department of Transportation, and cash and in-kind contributions from participating railroads like CN and CPKC. The governance structure is a steering committee with representatives from participating carriers, public agencies, and municipal stakeholders, modeled on interagency cooperative frameworks used by entities like the MTA and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Financial instruments have included federal TIGER grants, state bond proceeds, and private cost-sharing agreements intended to allocate benefits and expenses consistent with precedent from projects such as the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement and regional transit public–private partnerships.

Environmental and Economic Impact

CREATE projects aim to reduce locomotive idling and delay-related emissions, thereby contributing to air quality improvements measured against Environmental Protection Agency standards and Chicago Climate Action Plan goals. By improving network fluidity, CREATE supports freight movement on corridors that connect industries served by terminals like Will County Intermodal Facility and intermodal hubs linked to O'Hare International Airport logistics. Economic analyses performed for CREATE reference modeling methodologies used by the U.S. Department of Commerce and Bureau of Economic Analysis to estimate benefits in reduced travel time, lower logistics costs for firms such as CN-served shippers, and broader regional productivity gains across the Chicago metropolitan area supply chain.

Construction, Operation, and Timeline

Project delivery follows staged construction sequencing to maintain ongoing operations for carrier partners including Amtrak and commuter services by Metra. Major milestones include initial project selection in the mid-2000s, award of federal grants in the 2010s, and phased commissioning of flyovers and grade separations through the 2020s. Work sites have required coordination with municipal permits from the City of Chicago, environmental reviews consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act, and alignment with signal and safety upgrades mandated by the Federal Railroad Administration. Many projects remain active with multi-year construction timelines due to the complexity of working in a dense urban rail grid.

Criticism and Controversies

Critiques of CREATE have focused on the pace of delivery, allocation of costs between private railroads and public taxpayers, and local impacts such as property disruption in neighborhoods including Pilsen and Bridgeport. Advocacy groups and municipal officials have debated the equity of benefits, citing concerns similar to controversies surrounding large infrastructure programs like the Big Dig and urban renewal disputes in Chicago history including debates linked to the Chicago Plan era. Environmental advocates have pressed for stricter mitigation commitments related to construction emissions and truck traffic near affected railyards, prompting negotiation among stakeholders and adjustments to project scopes.

Category:Transportation in Chicago Category:Rail transportation in Illinois