Illinois getting $1.4B from feds to fix, upgrade bridges

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois will receive $1.4 billion to help upgrade its deteriorating bridges under the federal infrastructure law approved in November, the state's Democratic congressional delegation said Friday.^[1]

The funding over five years will include $274.8 million in Fiscal Year 2022, the delegation said in a news release which says Illinois is home to “more than 2,374 bridges in poor condition."

The money will go to the Illinois Department of Transportation, which will determine how to invest it across the state for bridge upgrades.

Illinois' allotment is part of a $27 billion program to repair and upgrade roughly 15,000 highway bridges nationwide that President Joe Biden was announcing Friday.^[2]

“With $1.4 billion set aside for Illinois, this is poised to be a new era in infrastructure that will move our economy forward and create jobs,” Senator Dick Durbin said in the news release. “I’m proud to have supported this historic, much-needed legislation.”

Since 2011, commute times in Illinois have increased by more than seven percent and that on average, every Illinois driver pays $609 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair, the Democratic delegation said.

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly said the funding will “create jobs, reduce commute times and most importantly, ensure that our bridges serve as safe and helpful connections throughout our great state."

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