Illinois sewer upgrades to create 9,700 construction jobs

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A recently launched $1 billion initiative to upgrade sewer lines, water mains and water treatment plants across Illinois will create 9,700 construction jobs in the state, according to Gov. Pat Quinn’s office.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the upgrade comes after the Environmental Protection Agency found Illinois to be the state with the fourth-highest need for improvements to drinking water infrastructure and the sixth-highest need for improvements to wastewater infrastructure.

It sounds like the guys hired for to complete this initiative have their work cut our for them. Some of the sewer lines, water mains and water treatment plants in question have been in service for more than 100 years and are badly eroded, the Tribune reports.

Read the full story here.