There’s no time to bask in the glory of the completed I-74 bridge that was 30 years in the making and one of the Quad Cities’ most high-profile transportation projects in a generation. The stars are aligning to make passenger rail from Chicago to the Quad Cities and beyond a very real possibility — if leaders don’t wait and work broadly across the state of Iowa.
Passenger rail has been a priority for the Quad Cities and other areas like Iowa City for many years, but its likelihood of success made it difficult to garner any real momentum.
But massive federal infrastructure money, which was signed into law by President Biden in 2021, and a plausible way forward could give leaders another reason to try again.
A recent speech by former U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood at the April 11 Quad Cities Regional Business Journal’s Transportation and Infrastructure Seminar could revive that coveted passenger rail goal if a larger geographical area makes it a priority, and acts soon.
As secretary, Mr. LaHood said he worked with then-Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and others to create the passenger rail corridor from Chicago to the Quad Cities. “You provided money, impetus, encouragement,” he said. It went nowhere, however, he added, because the Iowa Interstate Railroad won’t discuss or approve the passenger rail upgrades needed at a critical Bureau County, Illinois, interchange that the freight carrier controls.
“To me the only thing standing in the way of making that happen is a freight rail system in Iowa and the Iowa political leadership saying, ‘This is important for infrastructure for the region; for the country,’” Mr. LaHood said.
Notably, Mr. LaHood was the sole Republican in the Obama administration.
From now on, he added, Quad Cities leaders’ first priority must be to find a way to convince influential Iowa leaders to show the Iowa Interstate Railroad that it would be in its best interests to share the rails and improve the interchange at Wyanet, Illinois.
Mr. LaHood stressed that the timing couldn’t be better for this to happen with the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that will be looking for projects to complete, and President Biden is reportedly a big proponent of passenger rail.
“If you build passenger rail from Chicago to the Quad Cities you will increase your opportunities for economic development for people coming here, but the Iowa piece has to get done, and you are the only ones that can make it happen,” Mr. LaHood added.
There is, however, no time to waste, he said, because the “stars are aligned” and there are large amounts of infrastructure investment money still available at the state and federal levels.
Notably there was some movement in the recently adjourned Iowa Legislature on approving a Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Compact with other Midwest states to develop intercity passenger and high-speed rail traffic.
Can the Quad Cities, the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Corridor and Des Moines and Council Bluffs/Omaha all work together to make this happen? That’s a big question, but now is certainly the time to try.
