The Venice City Council met on May 4 and those in attendance got to hear a presentation by Terminal Railroad about its expansion project of an additional railyard west of the current yard to allow more trains in so road blockages are shorter. Phase 1 of the project will add 30,000 square feet of storage and seven miles of new track across 10-20 acres. The speakers stressed that the project is a job creator for the community through industrial and manufacturing warehouses building near the railyard more than a tax revenue source for the city since all taxes are paid to the state for distribution. They added that Illinois doesn’t tax railroads like school districts where the taxes generated stay in that area.
Residents and council members raised concerns about noise from the railyard and they said U.S. Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski has put in a request for grant money to put a soundwall up around the new yard, adding the noise “won’t be any worse than it is now.”
The project is slated to be completed by October…