Ramping up their efforts: Rochelle’s vision for a rail system could be good news for Lee County

ROCHELLE – Union Pacific Railroad is closing the intermodal ramp operations in Rochelle come July, and the city is speeding up its efforts to create an intermodal with the City of Rochelle Railroad, with its eyes on prime development land in Lee County.

In August, the city broke ground on a $7 million rail expansion project that’s expected to open up more than 1,000 acres in Lee County to new development.

The “multi-modal” project, expected to be done this summer, includes a 3-mile extension of the city’s rail system, a four-track rail bridge over John’s Creek and a loading yard built for moving goods that require more than one method of transportation.

City officials have been looking into the feasibility of developing their own intermodal rail operations for a couple of months with a rail consultant, and the UP announcement will accelerate their efforts, Rochelle Economic Development Director Jason Anderson said Wednesday.

They were looking to “test the waters” with outfitting an existing rail yard to handle an annual intermodal traffic of 3,000 to 4,000 containers, but now will look more at the 100,000 to 150,000 range.

“Now our vision is much, much larger,” Anderson said.

They also have contacted state and national legislators to help advocate for funding for the project and help preserve jobs and development opportunities, he said.

“We’re disappointed [with UP’s decision], but we think this will be a great opportunity for us and our entire region,” he said. “We didn’t have any inkling that this would happen, but it folds right into our plans to expand our rail system.”

In a general announcement to customers about intermodal changes, including closing Global III in Rochelle, UP said:

“Operating six facilities with a variety of equipment at each creates complexity for Union Pacific (equipment issues, additional switching), as well as our customers (complex drayage arrangements and vendor management), creating a greater likelihood of supply chain failure. Therefore, we will be idling the Global 3 (G3) Intermodal Ramp in early July, and the Canal Street Container Depot will follow shortly thereafter.”

The Rochelle Global III facility covers 1,200 acres and includes a large switching yard, and operations will be re-directed to its Global IV intermodal in Joliet.

“The Union Pacific and the city of Rochelle have been partners in bringing economic development opportunities through Global III for more than 15 years, with dozens of local industries utilizing the UP’s intermodal service,” Mayor Chet Olson said in a news release.

“The City Council and staff are already at work to keep the jobs related to intermodal services in Rochelle,” Mayor-elect John Bearrows added in the release. “We are expanding the possibility of the city of Rochelle Railroad providing intermodal services.”

The city and the Greater Rochelle Economic Development Corp. started building its own rail system in 1986. It connects local industries to the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, the nation’s largest railroads.