The Illinois Department of Transportationâs (IDOT) fiscal year 2019 Highway Improvement Program provides $2.269 billion for Illinois roads and bridges, $69 million of which is appropriations from previous fiscal years, according to the Illinois Association of Aggregates Producersâ (IAAP) September Update newsletter.
IDOT has published an overview of its planned FY 2019 improvements, which can be downloaded as PDF, here.
The program focuses on maintaining and preserving existing roads and bridges, with a special emphasis on the National Highway System.
To ensure the money spent on roads and bridges provides the best return on investment, IDOT is moving away from its traditional âworst-firstâ investment strategy and implementing new processes, including a risk-based Transportation Asset Management Plan.
When compared to the expense of evaluating infrastructure and applying low-cost treatments, asset management strategies will have long-term benefits over past practices.
The 2019 programâs asset management principles will help save money over time and make resources available to invest in large, projects that have been a challenge to build.
