Metro East to share in $220 million to improve ports and transit systems [View all]

The Metro East is set to get tens of millions of dollars to improve local public transit systems and update the region’s ports.

The grant funding from the state is part of $220 million in capital improvements for downstate communities that Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced in East St. Louis on Wednesday.

“We're launching funding to support Illinois ports, a critical hub for our national infrastructure and shipping logistics, as well as our three dozen transit systems outside of Chicago,” Pritzker said.

One of the projects in the Metro East is the construction of a $9.9 million public safety center in St. Clair County, which will house county sheriff’s deputies, 911 dispatching, a transit control center for MetroLink and a pilot program to assist riders with mental health, homlessness and other issues.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/government-politics-issues/2022-01-26/metro-east-to-share-in-220-million-to-improve-ports-and-transit-systems