EARLVILLE — Saturday morning, over 200 people gathered from two states and ten counties to hear information about the proposed Great Lakes Basin Railroad, a 272 mile rail line that runs from Wisconsin to Indiana.
The plan, which has been in the works since 2013, has come to light in the last two weeks due to social media and the upcoming Surface Transportation Board Meeting scheduledMay 16th in Washington DC.
Carl Zimmerman of Earlville helped organize the event held at Earlville High School to inform the community about the potential damage to the community and farmland that this rail line would cause. The Great Lakes Basin Railway would run through Lee County west of Paw Paw entering LaSalle County Northwest of Earlville and traveling Southwest crossing the Fox River south of Sheridan.
According to the Great Lakes Basin Transportation website, the new line would help be an alternative route for 15-to-25% of current Chicago rail traffic.
The Surface Transportation Board will host upcoming scoping meetings with the public to discuss environmental concerns through the Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis.
The local meetings will be April 20, 2016; 5:30pm at Rochelle Township High School Auditorium, and April 21, 2016; 5:30pm at Seneca High School Auditorium.
To see a map of the proposed route visit http://www.greatlakesbasin.net/
