Rochelle officials are moving forward with the improvements for the industrial rail in the Hub City.
The Council approved 2 bids last night due to the increase demand of the rail for Coated Sand Solutions by the end of the year. At the present time, around 38 hundred railcars use the tracks per year. That number is expected to increase to 14 to 18 thousand railcars over a 12 month period.
1 bid last night totaled $600,466 for the extension of the rail to John's Creek. Economic Development Administration funds that total $750,000 will be used for the project on the south side of Rochelle.
The other bid came in a $255,590 for a storage track in the north switch yard. The capital outlay budget for the work totaled $350,000.
Gredco Director Jason Anderson stressed that there are several benefits for this project to meet the traffic needs on the local rail
Anderson said that the work will be completed by the end of the year. He said that the Economic Development Administration still needs to approve the plan involving the extension of the rail which should be completed sometime this month.
