ROCHELLE, Ill. — The city of Rochelle has broken ground on its new Intermodal Transload Center, which will offer both intermodal service and transloading for a variety of commodities.
Intermodal service could begin as early as spring 2023, the city says.
“The Union Pacific Global III Intermodal facility abruptly idled in 2019, leaving local industries with increased transportation costs and shipping delays,” Rochelle Mayor John Bearrows said during groundbreaking ceremonies on Wednesday, Nov. 9, according to a city press release. “Today, we break ground on a facility that will serve as a cost-effective alternative to moving freight through the heavily congested transportation corridors in Chicago.”
The project is a collaboration with the Greater Rochelle Economic Development Corp. and Burlington Junction Railway, which will operate the container yard. The facility will be served by the City of Rochelle Railroad, which offers connections to both BNSF Railway and Union Pacific.
The project includes paving the facility’s entrance, construction of an 1,100-by-60-foot concrete lifting pad, and building an intermodal container yard adjacent to the existing transload center.
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Hmm. Sounds like corporate welfare for U.P. At least BNSF will get a chance at serving customers as well and help keep costs down.
If it was corporate welfare for UP, Rochelle would just take over operations of Global 3, which they’re not.
I had read that several companies in NW Iowa and SW Wisconsin that were draying back and forth to UP GIII were left in a lurch when it was idled. They were told to bring it into Chicago instead.
So hopefully they will still be around to use this facility.