The Carbondale Chamber of Commerce sent the letter below to the DOT supporting the city's request for funding for the proposed multi-modal center. Not sure what will come of it due to the lack of any significant funding for infrastructure improvements from the current administration.:
The Honorable Elaine L. Chao, Secretary
United States Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20590
Dear Secretary Chao:
I am writing on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce to express our support of the City of Carbondale's application for the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant for $14.64 million through the U.S. Department of Transportation, for the Southern Illinois Multi-Modal Station (SIMMS) project. This grant will allow the City of Carbondale to complete design and construction and will also help generate much needed economic activity within our region.
In a rural area like Southern Illinois, transportation is often cited as a key impediment to connecting qualified workers with jobs. SIMMS will provide an opportunity to improve public transportation throughout the region and doing so, will provide opportunities to many low-income residents to access jobs, educational opportunities, and healthcare. Collectively, these improvements will improve the quality-of-life for many of our residents.
In addition to the improvements that the SIMMS project will provide for public transportation, this project would be a significant infrastructure investment to our region and would generate many high-quality construction jobs for the area which will generate additional economic impact. As such, we strongly support the use of BUILD funds to help facilitate the development of this critical project for Southern Illinois.
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