Cairo port development gets state grant

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that $3.4 million has been released for a new inland port under development in Cairo, Illinois.

The funding is part of the $45 billion Rebuild Illinois capital program approved by the state legislature in 2019 — with the majority of funding earmarked, according to Pritzker's office, for upgrading Illinois's aging transportation system, creating jobs and promoting economic growth.

The program is said to be the largest of its kind in Illinois history and state officials contended it will improve the state's roads and bridges, transit, freight and passenger rail, aviation, bicycle and pedestrian accommodations, ports and waterways.

On Aug. 4, 2020, Pritzker visited Cairo to announce a $40 million state commitment to the Alexander Cairo Port District — of which the $3.4 million grant is included.

The just-released money will go for completing federal environmental requirements and studies for the project.

"The Cairo port is one of the core pieces of Rebuild Illinois and critical to maintaining our state's status as the transportation hub of North America," said Omer Osman, Illinois Department of Transportation secretary. "The project will put people to work and strengthen the local economy while giving the region the opportunity to compete in the global marketplace."

The Cairo port represents one of the largest investments in Southern Illinois in decades.

Nearly 80% of the nation's inland barge traffic is said to travel past Cairo, where the Ohio and Mississippi rivers converge, with the site served by three major interstate highways and Class 1 railroads.

Major logistics and commodities businesses already have committed to using the new port to move crops, container shipments and bulk products, according to a news release from Pritzker's office.

Previously, the state Department of Transportation released $4 million to the Alexander Cairo Port District to launch preliminary engineering activities and other related work.

Additionally, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity released a $1 million grant for the project.