SPRINGFILED, Ill. (IRN) — Illinois has embarked on a record-setting transportation upgrade program.
The state will spend more than $41 billion to build and repair transportation infrastructure. It is the largest investment in state history and will involve all 102 Illinois counties.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said it is an area of the state that has been neglected for years.
“Not only was that holding back Illinois’ economic growth, but it was making our residents less safe and our communities less connected to one another,” said Pritzker.
The Fiscal Year 2025-30 Proposed Highway and Multimodal Improvement Program will invest $29.65 billion in state roads and bridges, with $5.3 billion identified for the current fiscal year. A total of $11.77 billion is programmed for other modes, which includes $7.5 billion for transit, $2.54 billion for freight and passenger rail, $1.57 billion for aviation, and $160 million for ports and waterways.
“It will ensure that Illinois products, both manufacturing and agricultural, can efficiently get to market across the globe,” said Kevin Artl, president of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois. “Make no mistake, our efforts to modernize our transportation network will have a global impact.”
On the highways side, the program will build or improve over 3,200 miles of roads and 8.8 million square feet of bridge deck on the state system.
“We look forward to putting people to work, striving to build the safest, most resilient and accessible system of transportation in the country,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Omar Osman.
By KEVIN BESSLER for the Illinois Radio Network
