Transportation

The region’s central location is a driving force in the local economy, ensuring the smooth movement of cargo to anywhere in the country. Business and leisure travelers alike will find a multitude of options to get from here to there.

Nestled in the heart of the Midwest, the Peoria area is a natural hub, easily accessible to the world via air, rail, barge or truck. In fact, the Greater Peoria Region is within one day’s drive of half of the population of the entire United States!

For the third year in a row, Expansion Management magazine listed Peoria in the top 20 percent of logistics metros in the U.S., giving it a “Five Star Logistics Metro” rating, and our railroad access rating scored 10th in the entire country. In addition, the Peoria region is the northernmost point on the Illinois River that’s navigable to barge traffic year-round.

FLYING THE FRIENDLY SKY

One of the most impressive aspects of central Illinois is our accessibility—a large part of which is due to the Greater Peoria Regional Airport. Peoria’s airport leads the state, with the most nonstop destinations of any airport outside of Chicago. Whether for business or leisure, our airport is the most convenient way to begin your trip. You can fly into any one of these cities right from Peoria: Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Orlando/Sanford, Denver and Phoenix/ Mesa. With its five major airlines waiting to serve you, you’re guaranteed a great travel experience to 10 nonstop destinations and connections to the world.

Beginning this year, the Airport Authority will embark on a new era of development. A $65 million terminal building will be constructed to allow for future expansion of commercial air service and pave the way for a bright economic future in the Greater Peoria Area. A new rental car facility, maintenance facility and airfield improvements in 2008, along with other airfield infrastructure improvements, will account for an additional $20 million in construction.

FedEx and UPS air cargo carriers land and take off at the airport every day, shipping millions of pounds of cargo annually—more than all other airports in western and central Illinois combined. The Greater Peoria Regional Airport is a U.S. Customs Port of Entry and the only 24-hour FAA air-traffic-controlled facility in the area. The Greater Peoria Regional Airport is also proud to house the 182nd Airlift Wing. Together with military and civilian business, the airport contributes over $328 million to the local economy.

Private air service is also available at the Pekin Municipal Airport and Mt. Hawley Airport in north Peoria. Among those offering charter services include Air-Illini, Aviation Specialists, Byerly Aviation and Mt. Hawley Air Charter. Located in nearby Bloomington-Normal, Central Illinois Regional Airport has also undergone a massive upgrade in recent years. It’s yet another way to take off in central Illinois.

MANY OPTIONS FOR TRANSIT

The Peoria area is home to five Class 1 railroads, six short-line railroads and more than 65 interstate and local trucking firms, with direct access to Interstate Highways 74, 474, 155 and 39; U.S. 150; and Illinois Routes 40, 24, 29, 8, 6 and 116.

Travel and transport on Interstate 74, which runs right through Peoria, have improved dramatically with the completion in recent years of the Upgrade 74 Project, the largest road reconstruction project in downstate Illinois history. The $500 million effort included new pavement and tunnels and replaced bridges and overpasses, plus lighting, ramps, landscaping and more.

CityLink is the Peoria area’s transit authority, serving our public transportation needs with 23 routes throughout Peoria and surrounding communities. Last year, it launched a trolley route running from the CityLink Transit Center to popular downtown destinations during weekday lunch hours and on Friday evenings. CityLink is also currently examining various proposals for expansion to outlying communities.

Peoria Charter Coach offers daily service to Chicago’s airports, along with unique day trips and tours to scenic destinations throughout the Midwest. Pick-up points include Bradley University and the CityLink Transit Center in Peoria and Illinois State University in Normal. Burlington Trailways provides intercity passenger bus service throughout the Midwest, operating daily from the Greater Peoria Regional Airport.

If you prefer to travel by rail, Amtrak has nearby stations in Normal, Galesburg and Lincoln, offering daily passenger train service to destinations around the country. A feasibility study on returning passenger rail service to Peoria proper began several months ago, with results expected later this year.

OF RIVERS, PORTS & TERMINALS

Peoria’s location on the Illinois River places it at the heart of the nation’s river barge transport system. More than 35 million tons of cargo pass through local locks annually, providing access from the Great Lakes to Gulf ports and beyond. Peoria Barge Terminal is a major multi-modal terminal for the state.

A unique public-private partnership, The Heart of Illinois Regional Port District (TransPORT) was created in 2003 as a system of ports and terminals encompassing 95 miles of the Illinois River in six central Illinois counties. It is recognized as one of the top logistics hubs in the Midwest. Whether by air, rail, barge or truck, TransPORT will get you where you need to go with a world-class intermodal network, unparalleled infrastructure, strategic access to national markets and a red-carpet business climate.

In 2006, TransPORT announced its initial port development project in Mapleton, just south of Peoria. This site of a former Caterpillar foundry includes an intact industrial building encompassing 1.1 million square feet on 80 acres along the Illinois River. Working hand in hand with an experienced developer and venture capital entity, TransPORT will reinvent the property as an active, vibrant port site that will house multiple distribution and manufacturing firms and generate scores of jobs. 2008 should witness initial tenant occupancy of the facility. The Port District meanwhile continues ongoing efforts toward property acquisition and terminal development at targeted locations in all six counties it serves, with particular emphasis on attracting incremental investment in the renewable fuels sector. PP