The Trump administration is relocating a billion-dollar construction project to protect the Great Lakes — taking it out of Illinois and into Michigan — in an unusual move that inflamed the administration’s feud with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
The Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday that it will resume construction on the Brandon Road Interbasin Project, a massive engineering effort aimed at deterring fast-breeding, ecologically destructive invasive Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes.
The announcement could mark the end of a monthslong pause instituted by the agency that spurred backlash from lawmakers around the Great Lakes. But it also came with a twist: Rather than have the Army Corps’ regional district in Rock Island, Illinois, lead the project, work will be transferred to a district office in Detroit.
Adam Telle, assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, said the shift was due to Illinois being “an unreliable partner.”
