COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Transportation announced a $21.3 billion plan to improve roads and bridges over the next six years.
The investment was made possible by Pritzker’s Rebuild Illinois capital plan, according to a news release. The Multi-Year Plan provides funding to reconstruct more than 3,300 miles of roads and more than 8 million square feet of bridges. It also will create “hundreds of thousands of jobs” over the next six years.
“Illinois remains a hub for commerce and transit – and not just for this nation, but for the entire global economy. We are the 5th largest economy in the United States, and the crossroads for national and international companies who need our roads and airports and rail and rivers and people to move their products,” said Pritzker. “Even in a pandemic – especially in a pandemic – our transportation systems connect the lives of our residents and our communities. Our roads and bridges deliver Illinoisans to work and home again, to school, to the pharmacy, to the doctor’s office.”
Pritzker announced the first multi-year plan under Rebuild Illinois last year and since then, IDOT began multiple projects including the $67 million Interstate 255 rehabilitation project in St. Clair and Madison counties.
By closing I-255 completely, IDOT will be able to complete the work in one season instead of several which will save an anticipated $14 million that can be reinvested in other projects, the release said.
“Under the leadership of Gov. Pritzker, IDOT throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, has focused on continued investments in infrastructure to keep people safe and the economy moving,” said acting IDOT secretary Omer Osman. “The multi-year plan keeps us on task during these uncertain times. While we are not cutting or delaying projects, we will continue monitoring the impacts on future revenues to ensure we are investing taxpayer resources wisely.”
Based on current funding levels, the program will improve 3,356 miles of roads and 8.4 million square feet of bridge deck. Of the total amount included in the program, $3.15 billion has been identified for the current fiscal year, the release said.
Projects included in the program were selected based on criteria such as pavement conditions, traffic volumes and crash history.
Here's how the funding will be used over the next six years:
- $6.1 billion will go toward highway reconstruction and preservation
- $4.7 billion towards bridge improvements
- $2.6 billion for strategic expansion
- $1.8 billion for system support like engineering and land acquisition
- $1.4 billion for safety and system modernizations
Rebuild Illinois is the largest capital program in state history and the first one to touch all modes of Illinois transportation, the release stated.
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