MOUNT VERNON, Ill. (AP) — One of southern Illinois' biggest employers now has a new railroad spur as it presses ahead with a $129-million expansion it says will add 100 jobs by mid-2015.
The $1.1 million spur paid for by Illinois taxpayers was unveiled Tuesday at the 3,000-worker Continental Tire the Americas site that produces more than 14 million tires a year in Mount Vernon.
Company officials have said the expansion announced in January is needed because of increased demand for Continental and General brand tires. When completed, production will be boosted by three million tires a year.
Before this project, the company invested more than $600 million in the Mount Vernon facility since 2006.