CARBONDALE – The City of Carbondale Friday celebrated a significant milestone as community leaders and partnering organizations gathered for the groundbreaking of the Southern Illinois Multimodal Station (SIMMS), a project set to modernize the region’s transportation systems.

When completed, SIMMS will serve as a hub for diverse transportation options, including Amtrak, Jackson County Mass Transit, RIDES Mass Transit, Shawnee Mass Transit, South Central Mass Transit, and Greyhound. By co-locating these transit providers, the system will experience enhanced reliability, enabling users to navigate the 30-county region with greater efficiency.

The City of Carbondale is proud to highlight that this project secured substantial investment from both federal and state sources, totaling over $21 million in grants. This financial backing exemplifies the recognition of SIMMS as a critical infrastructure development that will significantly contribute to the transportation network of Carbondale and the surrounding areas.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin emphasized the significance of the project, stating, “This project has been a long time coming. Nearly four years ago, Senator Duckworth and I secured a $14 million BUILD grant to help take the Southern Illinois Multimodal Station from blueprints to today’s groundbreaking,” said Durbin. “I’m pleased to see federal investments come home to Illinois, where they can truly make a difference in the lives of our state’s residents by positively impacting our regional economy, creating jobs, and improving connectivity across the state.”

Senator Tammy Duckworth stated, “Projects like the Southern Illinois Multimodal Station are great examples of the multiplying effect federal resources can bring to bear on State and local infrastructure investments, the impact these federal resources can have on our communities, and the kinds of things we can do when all levels of government come together,” Duckworth said. These projects aren’t just about improving quality of life for Southern Illinois residents—though that would’ve been reason enough to give it the green light. They’re about helping Illinoisans travel our great state more easily and with fewer delays, creating more good-paying union jobs for local construction workers and improving access for all riders.”

Amtrak’s Vice President of Stations, Facilities, and Accessibility, Dr. David Handera, emphasized the need for a new facility, stating “When this building was put up in 1981, our annual ridership was about 62,000 passengers. Our pre-COVID ridership now is more than 84,000.We’ve grown the ridership in partnership with IDOT and outgrown this little building.”

The City of Carbondale anticipates that construction of this state-of-the-art facility will be complete in December 2024.