Welcome to the FastLane: The Official Blog of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation

Pipeline modernization project to create jobs, increase safety

An America built to last has to include an efficient and safe network of pipelines that connects communities with the energy they need. 

That’s why DOT has pledged to work with pipeline operators who step up to modernize their pipelines by helping to cut bureaucratic red tape and get shovels in the ground faster. That means jobs for American workers and safer, more efficient pipelines for American communities.

NiSource, Inc. answered the challenge, and last Thursday, Deputy Secretary John Porcari and PHMSA Administrator Cynthia Quarterman traveled to Columbus, Ohio, to see firsthand the work that’s being done. Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, who has championed this important work at the local level, was also on hand.

NiSource is investing more than $4 billion dollars to replace 1,000 miles of pipeline--using steel made right here in America.

Spread over six states, this project will not only modernize pipelines in communities across the region; NiSource estimates that it will also add an estimated 8,000 jobs in a region that needs them.

Smart planning is the new Normal

When we can help travelers make easier connections, that's a transportation win. And when we can help customers get to the businesses and services they use more easily, that's an economic win. I'm happy to say that in Normal, Illinois, the terrific new Uptown Station does both.

On Saturday, I joined U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, Normal Mayor Chris Koos, and Amtrak Chairman Tom Carper to dedicate the new center that will serve as a true transportation hub for the city of Normal and an economic engine for the central Illinois region.

 

When Americans travel, we don't always get to our destination in the same way. Sometimes we drive; sometimes we ride a bus or bicycle; sometimes we fly or walk. And sometimes we combine modes, like by riding a train between cities then taking transit locally to complete our trip.

And when that happens, it's a lot easier if we can make our connections in a single, central hub. Uptown Station does exactly that by gathering inter-city buses, Amtrak rail, transit, and taxis along the primary leg of a major inter-city bicycle and pedestrian trail. The new center--less than four miles from the Central Illinois Regional Airport--also features plenty of parking.