The effort to build an inland port at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers at Cairo with Illinois union workers moved forward on Tuesday.
The Alexander-Cairo Port District has completed a project labor agreement with the Illinois AFL-CIO. This means more than 500 jobs created by the construction of the Cairo port will be filled by local Illinois union workers.
Last August, Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker announced 40-million dollars in Rebuild Illinois funds.
State Senator Dale Fowler has championed the project for years. The Harrisburg republican says some multi-billion dollar companies have already committed to using the new port to move crops, container shipments and bulk products once it's completed.
Eighty percent of U.S. inland barge traffic travels past Cairo.
