Governor JB Pritzker joined the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to announce a $34.6 billion program to improve roads, bridges, transit, rail, airports, and ports over the next six years.
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This funding represents a robust commitment to invest in people and communities backed by the historic Rebuild Illinois capital program.
"Since I signed our historic, bipartisan infrastructure program into law, Rebuild Illinois has undertaken a massive transformation of our state's transportation systems," said Governor JB Pritzker.
"And today [August 12], I am proud to announce IDOT's new Multi-Year Program for the next six years — with $20 billion going towards transportation investments including 2,500 miles of roads and nearly 10 million square feet of bridge deck and $10 billion going towards our state's rail and transit systems, airports, and ports.
"At its very core, Rebuild Illinois and this MYP are an investment in our future — one that leads to economic prosperity and environmental sustainability."
Of the major elements in the program, $6.36 billion will go toward highway reconstruction and preservation, $6.4 billion for bridge improvements, $2.03 billion for strategic expansion, $2.48 billion for system support such as engineering and land acquisition, and $1.55 billion for safety and system modernizations.
For the first time, road projects that add capacity were evaluated by a new Data-Driven Decisions The FY2023-28 Proposed Highway Improvement Program aims to improve 2,562 miles of roads and nearly 10 million square feet of bridge deck.
Of the $24.6 billion over the six years of the highway portion of program, $3.7 billion is identified for the current fiscal year. Included in the program are scores of projects in each of IDOT's nine highway districts.
In addition to the six-year program for roads and bridges, Governor Pritzker also released the FY2023-28 Proposed Multimodal Multi-Year Improvement Program further demonstrating the commitment through Rebuild Illinois to build connections across the modes of transportation and strengthen the state's entire transportation network, resulting in even more economic activity and job creation.
The program identifies a combined federal, state, and local investment of $6.5 billion for transit, $2.5 billion for passenger and freight rail, $817 million for aviation, and $150 million for ports.
Passed in 2019, Rebuild Illinois is investing a total $33.2 billion into the state's transportation system over six years, creating jobs and promoting economic growth.
Rebuild Illinois is not only the largest capital program in state history, but also the first plan that touches all modes of Illinois transportation: roads and bridges, transit, waterways, freight and passenger rail, aviation, and bicycle and pedestrian accommodations.
Entering year four of Rebuild Illinois, IDOT has made approximately $8.6 billion in improvements statewide on 4,422 miles of highway, 412 bridges, and 621 additional safety improvements. ■