YORKVILLE, Ill. — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposal for a six-year, $41.5-billion infrastructure program in the state includes $100 million for the expansion of Metra service into Kendall County, the Kendall County Record reports.
A total of $3.4 billion in the plan is for transit projects, the Chicago Tribune reported earlier this week, with $2.9 of that earmarked for Chicago’s Regional Transportation Authority, the parent organization of Metra, the Chicago Transit Authority, and Pace bus service. [See “Report: Illinois governor’s infrastructure plan to include $2.9 billion for Metra parent,” Trains News Wire, May 19, 2019.]
Metra approved a $4.7 million engineering study for the expansion of service into Kendall County just last week. [See “Metra board OKs engineering study for extension of BNSF service,” Trains News Wire, May 20, 2019.] Previously earmarked federal funds will pay for that study, but funding for the capital and operating costs have been the long-standing barrier to any extension of service.
