Governor JB Pritzker Directs $160 Million for Illinois Inland Marine Freight Ports and Lock Terminals

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — Governor JB Pritzker announced on Monday the distribution of $160 million in state capital infrastructure grants through the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Marine Transportation Program to reconstruct, expand, and rail-connect five inland marine river freight ports along the Mississippi, Illinois, and Ohio Rivers.

The funding targets key intermodal agricultural and heavy industrial export gateways—including the America's Central Port in Granite City, the Port of Peoria, the Illinois International Port District in Chicago, and the Alexander-Cairo Port District at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.

Strengthening the Agricultural Export Conduit to Global Markets Illinois farmers produce over 2.2 billion bushels of corn and 650 million bushels of soybeans annually, with more than 60 percent of exported agricultural commodities transported via barge down the inland river system to deepwater grain export terminals on the lower Mississippi River.

"Illinois is the transportation and logistics hub of North America, connecting our agricultural heartland to consumers across the globe," Governor Pritzker said at America's Central Port in Granite City. "Waterborne freight is the most cost-effective, fuel-efficient way to transport bulk agricultural and manufactured goods. This $160 million investment modernizes our river ports, installs heavy-lift electric container cranes, and builds direct freight rail spurs, ensuring Illinois agricultural producers remain globally competitive."

Major River Port Allocations Key port modernization projects include:

• America's Central Port (Granite City/Madison County): $50 million to construct a multi-modal container transfer dock and 8,000 feet of rail loop track.
• Alexander-Cairo Port Terminal: $45 million for deepwater year-round grain elevator mooring and high-speed barge loading conveyors.
• Port of Peoria (Tazewell County): $30 million for heavy roll-on/roll-off machinery loading docks serving regional manufacturing plants.
• Illinois International Port District (Lake Calumet/Chicago): $35 million for dock wall stabilization and cold-storage warehouse retrofits.

Agricultural exporter associations and river pilot organizations commended the capital investments, pointing out that expanded marine port capacity reduces highway congestion and lowers per-bushel grain shipping costs for farmers.