By Rachel Lippmann, KWMU
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kwmu/local-kwmu-829499.mp3
St. Louis – The list of transportation projects Missouri and Illinois have submitted to the federal government for approval are heavy on road construction and repair.
The stimulus bill that will fund those projects set aside $ 9 billion for rail, but it's intended for high-speed trains and improvements to Amtrak, not the smaller regional railroads known as shortlines.
States have the authority to provide some of their highway dollars to the shortlines.
But as KWMU's Rachel Lippmann reports in this tale of two stimulus projects, most are not taking advantage of the flexibility.