The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) officials and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn yesterday unveiled a $12.84 billion Multi-Year Highway Improvement Program for Fiscal Years 2011-2016. The proposed program includes a $30.8 million bridge rehabilitation and interchange reconstruction project at I-55 at Central Avenue in Chicago, which is expected to create 612 direct and indirect jobs. The entire Multi-Year Plan (MYP) is will create an estimated 167,000 direct jobs over the next six years.
“I have made it my priority to invest in our state’s infrastructure, which will spark economic growth in local communities across the state by putting more people to work while improving public safety,” said Gov. Quinn in a written statement. “With the recent passage of Illinois Jobs Now!, the first jobs and capital program in over a decade, we look forward to the most robust construction season in the state’s history and the benefits it will bring to Illinois.”
The project highlighted during the announcement at Chicago I-55 (Stevenson Expressway) and Central Avenue in Cook County is just one example of the many Chicago-area projects in the MYP. This project includes bridge rehabilitation, interchange reconstruction, retaining wall, a railroad flagger, construction engineering and lighting are programmed during FY 2011-2016 at $30.8 million. Of this total, $29.8 million is programmed in FY 2011. This project has also been approved for Illinois Major Bridge Program funding.
The proposed $12.84 billion highway improvement program for FY 2011-2016 MYP is based upon conservative estimates of federal, state and local funding, with $7.292 billion in federal funds, $4.888 billion in state funds including $142 million in bonds from the Governor Quinn’s Illinois Jump Start Capital Plan, $2.49 billion for the Illinois Jobs Now! bond program and $660 million in local funds.
The six-year highway improvement program includes $10.103 billion for improvements to the state highway system with $2.737 billion available for local roads.
“We are very excited about what the next few years will bring to Illinois,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Gary Hannig in a press release. “We are working diligently to get many of these projects started to help support economic development and help improve our state’s infrastructure in communities statewide.”
The FY 2011-2016 Proposed Highway Improvement Program will provide funding to maintain 4,739 miles of highways and replace or rehabilitate 763 bridges. The entire FY 2011-2016MYP is available online at the Illinois Department of Transportation Website at www.dot.il.gov.
