Carbondale Reporter

The Alexander-Cairo Port District finished a project labor agreement with the Illinois AFL-CIO on Apr. 28, marking a huge stride for a new inland port at the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.

The agreement creates 500 jobs that will be filled by Illinois Union Workers and boost the local economy. 

"I am confident that Alexander-Cairo port will be game-changing for our state, spurring additional economic development and growth," Sen. Dale Fowler wrote in a Facebook post on Apr. 28. "With such a big undertaking, we could not move forward with this project without the incredible local labor workforce of Southern Illinois spearheading its development."

Eighty percent of the traffic at inland barge travels past Cairo. The project will have a positive effect on the logistics industry. 

“The Cairo port district represents the best of Rebuild Illinois: investing in not only infrastructure, but also jobs and economic prosperity for a region left out for far too long,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) told WSILTV. 

“Thanks to the Alexander Cairo Port District and the Illinois AFL-CIO, more than 500 Illinois workers and their families will have access to good union jobs in the next stages of the port’s construction – opportunities that couldn’t come at a better time for the people of Illinois. Our building trades are top-notch, and I have every faith the team on the ground will deliver the state-of-the-art infrastructure Southern Illinois deserves.”

Gov. Pritzker announced in Aug. 2020 that the Rebuild Illinois capital plan creates $40 million in state funding to be allocated for the construction of the port. 

“All the construction trades in our region are proud to see the Cairo port moving forward and are thrilled to be part of the project,” Tate Wright of the Egyptian Building & Construction and Building Trades Council told WSILTV. 

“This port will use our location at the confluence of America’s two largest rivers to drive jobs, industry and investment to Southern Illinois.”