Fed money released for Oswego Metra station

July 21, 2010
By STEVE LORD slord@stmedianetwork.com

The Federal Transportation Administration has released about $5 million set aside for work on a Metra commuter rail station in Oswego.

The money was released at the request of U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Batavia, who sent a letter about a year ago to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation asking about the money.

The $5 million was originally set aside in 2003 by then-Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert of Yorkville as part of an overall $397 million spending bill signed by then-President George Bush.

The earmark was to study extending the Metra Chicago-to-Aurora line into Kendall County. In his letter, Foster asked if the money could be released and changed to cover engineering for extending the line to a Metra station in Oswego, likely at Orchard Road.

"The secretary said it could be for preliminary engineering along the corridor," said Shannon O'Brien, Foster's communications director in Washington.

Metra Deputy Director Bill Tupper, who has been serving since April as acting executive director of the suburban rail operation, has already begun developing a request for proposal to send out for the engineering.

The money does not cover any construction cost, but the 2005 federal transportation bill authorized Metra to apply for federal funds for construction when the project is ready.

Discussion lately about the Metra station in Oswego has centered on developing a timeline for not only building the station, but when Kendall County can come up with the money to operate the line to Oswego.

While local government could pay for the cost, it is more likely Kendall County will have to join the Regional Transportation Authority and pay the RTA tax to cover the operating costs. That has to be done by a countywide referendum.

But Foster told some local officials engineering and planning for the new station can start before the RTA situation is decided.

"He said not to worry about the RTA tax this year," said Yorkville Mayor Valerie Burd.

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