A $34.6 billion, six-year program to address aging transit infrastructure in Springfield, Illinois, has been announced. The Illinois Department of Transportation‘s plan will upgrade the state’s highways, bridges, transit, rail, airports, and ports. It is partially funded by the Rebuild Illinois program and federal funding.
In Sangamon County alone, upgrades to Interstate 55 and other local routes will cost a total of $259.5 million. Both state senator Doris Turner, a Democrat from Springfield, and mayor James Langfelder of Springfield favor these expenditures. IDOT claims that the initiative will result in the reconstruction or rehabilitation of more than 2,500 miles of road. Additionally, almost 10 million square feet of bridge deck space will also be rehabilitated.
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The spending proposal also includes $10 billion in enhancements in ports, airports, and rail and transportation networks. Locally, I-55 will be improved with the addition of lanes, and reconstruction. A 7.8-mile stretch, north of Sangamon Avenue and up toward Williamsville, at an estimated cost of $124.2 million. Between Illinois 104 and Horse Farm Road, I-55 will also receive $18.5 million worth of resurfacing and bridge repairs. Estimated costs for the project are $40.4 million.
More on the Illinois Infrastructure Program
There are two projects near the Illinois 97/125 intersection and MacArthur Boulevard outside of I-55. For $28 million, the 1.5-mile stretch between Wabash Avenue and South Grand Avenue will get new traffic lights and ADA improvements. In the $76.4 million junction project, a bridge replacement, lane extension, and pedestrian overpass will all be included. The majority of the funding for these projects comes from Rebuild Illinois, although it also receives funding from the federal and state governments. Rebuild Illinois will provide $33.2 billion over the following six years to state transportation, with the remaining funds coming from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Omer Osman, the secretary of transportation for Illinois, credited IIJA for helping to complete the plan and referred to the act as the “largest government commitment to the nation’s transportation infrastructure since the Eisenhower administration.” The law increased IDOT’s program investment by $4 billion.
