CREATE Program Manager

IEI is partnering with the Illinois Department of Transportation as the CREATE Program Manager in a JV team with RINA, Inc.

CREATE (Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency) is a one-of-a-kind public-private initiative aimed at transforming transportation in the Chicagoland area through both rail and roadway improvements. This pioneering partnership brings together a distinguished group of transportation organizations, including the U.S. Department of Transportation, the State of Illinois, Cook County, the City of Chicago, Metra, Amtrak, the Association of American Railroads, and several major freight railroads such as BNSF, Belt Railway of Chicago, Canadian Pacific, Canadian National, CSX, Indiana Harbor Belt, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific.

Approximately one quarter of all U.S. rail traffic passes through Chicago, making it an important national rail hub. The CREATE program aims to increase safety, capacity, speed, and reliability for freight train traffic through the separation of freight and commuter trains at six key junctions and the elimination of 25 road-to-rail grade crossings. The CREATE program encompasses 70 individual projects, which are in various stages of completion from awaiting funding to environmental review, design and construction.