According to the Illinois News, Governor Bruce Rauner has announced a plan to invest $11.05 billion in infrastructure which also includes $2.2 billion of state and federal funding in the upcoming fiscal year.
The FY2019-2024 Proposed Highway Improvement Program aims to improve 1,945 miles of road and 525 bridges in the state. Also 750 miles of local roads and 922,933 square feet of local bridges.
- $26 million toward the reconstruction of U.S. 20/Rockford Bypass in Rockford
- $36 million to replace and repair the Third Street exit and ramps to Martin Luther King Drive in East St. Louis
- $12.7 million for additional lanes on 4.5 miles of Interstate 57 from Johnson City to West Frankfort
- $148.4 million for bridge work and other improvements on Interstate 80 through Will County
Per IDOT, beginning with this Multi Year Plan, the department is working towards performing treatments in all stages of the transportation system's life cycle. The goal is to work toward 80 percent reconstruction and rehabilitation, with 20 percent preservation work based on the number of miles of roads and square feet of bridges programmed in each district. The preservation work will focus on keeping the good pavements and bridges in a state of acceptable condition before they fall to a lower rating and warrant a higher cost improvement. Small planned investments in maintenance of our roads and bridges will save the state and taxpayers money in the long run.
The Illinois Transportation Secretary, Randy Blankenhorn says, "this is a plan that will get the state on the right track toward meeting the needs of our communities and building a 21st century system of transportation".
View our complete list of current IDOT Projects.
According to the Illinois Business Journal, bridge safety is a major priority of IDOT's six year plan. Jeff Keirn, acting deputy Director said, "It's different than what we've been working on the past several years, now that work on the New Mississippi River Bridge Project, the funded portion of U.S. 67 and the I-255 extension are being completed or have been completed.” “Our focus as a department is to make sure we take care of our bridges,” he said. “Statewide, 27 percent of this multi-year program is allocated toward bridge maintenance. The emphasis on putting an appropriate level of funding in place to ensure long-term interstate bridge safety is true in all IDOT regions and districts. It’s a concerted effort to keep them as safe and well-maintained as we possibly can,” he added.
In Illinois, IDOT maintains a total of 7,741 interstate bridges, 2,182 interstate miles and a total of 15,999 road miles.
District 8 projects proposed in the six-year plan include resurfacing and repair totaling approximately $85.3 million in Madison County, $59.6 million in St. Clair County, $43.7 million in Clinton County, $16.6 million in Jersey County, $11.4 million in Bond County and $19.5 million in Centralia (spanning multiple counties).
The plan also includes a new $40 million interchange in St. Clair County at I-64 and Rieder Road and land acquisition, new construction and related costs for 5.1 miles of the future U.S. 67 four-lane expressway from Jerseyville to the Madison County line ($47.1 million).
Bruce Holland, chief executive officer at Holland Construction Services Inc. in Swansea and co-chairman of Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois’ SITE (Southwestern Illinois Transportation Enhancement) Committee, is a long-time advocate for the region’s transportation needs. Holland says Illinois was particularly lucky to have gotten federal stimulus money, “Illinois Jobs Now!” capital program funding and the New Mississippi River Bridge Project essentially at the same time. “It was record-breaking for our economy,” Holland said. “Normally in a district of our size, you’d see about $125 million a year in programming. We saw $300 million to $400 million a year for multiple years. We were doing exceptionally well.”
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