The Federal Railroad Administration will conduct an environmental assessment of the controversial $915 million proposal by Amtrak and billionaire investor Justin Ishbia to transform a little-used Bridgeport rail yard on the South Side into a massive train maintenance facility, according to a Monday post on the agency’s website.
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It’s potentially a big turnaround from earlier this year, and comes after passionate outcry against the plan from neighborhood residents and local elected officials, who erupted in anger when the full scope of the project became apparent to them.
The federal government originally granted Amtrak and Canal Edge, Ishbia’s development company, a “categorical exclusion,” or an exemption from a more thorough environmental assessment.
But hundreds of Bridgeport and Chinatown residents packed community meetings throughout August and September and denounced the Amtrak-Ishbia plan, dubbed the Midwest Maintenance Facility Project. Many said they worried a 24/7 maintenance facility would pollute their neighborhoods with diesel fumes and noise, while others complained that it opened the possibility of the White Sox leaving nearby Rate Field for a new downtown stadium.
Ald. Nicole Lee, (11th), Cook County Commissioner John Daley and many other representatives opposed the project and demanded a full environmental review.
Lee and Daley greeted Monday’s announcement with relief, but also vowed to keep up the pressure.
“We should not have had to scream, fight and pound on the doors of power just to get the basic transparency about the environmental effects this plan could have on our residents,” they said in a joint statement. “And our organizing does not stop now. No matter what this environmental study produces, our concerns about noise pollution, economic impact and other issues remain unaddressed.”
Sticking the project in a residential neighborhood “should have been an immediate non-starter,” they added.
Both Amtrak and Ishbia say they support the government’s latest move.
“Amtrak and Canal Edge support the Federal Railroad Administration’s decision to conduct an environmental assessment and welcomes the additional transparency, public participation, and community input it will provide,” they said in a joint statement. “While the categorical exclusion was already approved for the maintenance facility project, we believe a more robust environmental assessment is the correct next step and we fully support the FRA in this effort. We also recognize stakeholders have questions about the project and welcome the opportunity for additional review, dialogue, and feedback as the environmental assessment process moves forward.”
The project did undergo a preliminary environmental study, and Amtrak published a summary of its findings. It promised to release more details from that study, but has not yet done so.
The federal railroad agency’s Monday post said the original categorical exclusion was for the proposed maintenance yard, which would stretch for about two miles along Canal Street between Cermak Road and 38th Street on the current Union Pacific railyard just west of Rate Field.
“Subsequently, Amtrak sought to use federal funding to make necessary structural repairs to seventeen viaducts supporting the Canal Street Yard,” the post said, and after reviewing this modified plan, the agency decided to conduct another environmental assessment.
It’s the right move, according to Kevin Brubaker, deputy director of the Chicago-based Environmental Law & Policy Center. Granting a categorical exclusion to the maintenance facility wasn’t necessarily an error, he said, but the full scale of Amtrak’s proposal means it’s also justified for community members to ask more questions.
“The spirit of categorical exclusions is we shouldn’t have to do an environmental assessment every time you want a new bus stop, but this project fell into a gray area,” he said. “There was so much public concern over this, it was reasonable to open up the assessment. Before, the message was, ‘trust us,’ but now the Federal Railroad Administration will have to be more open about what it found out and be much more open to public input.”
The Amtrak-Ishbia plan includes a multistory train shed, a train washing facility and other storage areas. It would replace Amtrak’s current railyard along the South Branch of the Chicago River at 14th Street, just across from The 78, a mixed-use development and site of the Chicago Fire’s new stadium.
In September, Ishbia, a minority owner of the White Sox who has the option to take full control of the team in 2034, released a proposal for a new baseball stadium on Amtrak’s present 14th Street site, part of a proposed mixed-use development called The Railyards. The team’s lease for Rate Field ends in 2029.
Amtrak officials said they are in the midst of a multibillion-dollar, nationwide reconstruction effort, and a new Bridgeport facility would help modernize the company, speed up repair and maintenance operations, and curtail train delays out of Union Station and across the country. Amtrak considered staying at and renovating the 14th Street yard, they said, but found it no longer met its needs.
Amtrak is currently negotiating a purchase of the Union Pacific yard. The company announced in August that it will receive nearly $700 million in federal funds to acquire the site, develop the new maintenance facility and make improvements to local infrastructure.
U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin initially supported the project. But after community opposition ramped up in late summer, both issued calls for more transparency from Amtrak and Ishbia.
“After hearing concerns from the community, we are glad that the Federal Railroad Administration heeded our calls and is conducting a full environmental assessment before proceeding with the Midwest Maintenance Facility Project,” they said Monday in a joint statement. “This will provide a formal opportunity for the community to review environmental studies and provide direct input. While this is welcome progress, Amtrak and the developer must continue robust and transparent conversations with residents to ensure their concerns are addressed for this project to be a success.”
Other environmental advocates also weighed in.
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“While Illinois needs modern rail infrastructure, this proposal currently misses the mark,” according to a statement from the Illinois Environmental Council. “We urge Amtrak, Canal Edge, and Justin Ishbia to listen to the community and ensure any rail investments move forward only in ways that minimize air pollution and protect the health of communities. We hope to see a fully transparent and thorough environmental assessment process.”
The new federal environmental assessment will be done quickly so it’s not clear if it will fully answer community concerns.
Railroad officials said in their Monday statement that the assessment is already underway and will be complete by the end of the year.
Brubaker said he expects the Federal Railroad Administration to soon hold one or two community meetings to further discuss the issues.
Lee and Daley described it as a “positive step,” and said Amtrak acknowledged the project’s scope had changed.
“This means federal, state and local officials were not given a full and accurate picture of what Amtrak was proposing when they were evaluating the project,” they said. “That is precisely why the community has been demanding transparency and a thorough environmental review from the beginning.”
A.D. Quig and Talia Soglin contributed.