Illinois Passes $45 Billion Infrastructure Bill

Published: June 04, 2019

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The Illinois Legislature has passed a six-year, $45 billion bill to upgrade the state’s infrastructure.

The Illinois State Legislature has passed a new bill that would provide $45 billion in funding over six years to upgrade the state’s aging and neglected transportation infrastructure. The bill will support Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Rebuild Illinois plan, and he is expected to approve and sign the bill, which is the first capital bill this extensive since 2009.

Of these funds, $5 billion will go toward improvements to passenger rail service throughout Illinois. Specifically for Chicago, the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) would get an additional $3.2 billion for infrastructure projects. With this, RTA will be able help fund several projects, including:

  • A Kendall County Metra Rail extension
  • Green Line Cottage Grove Station repairs
  • Harvey Transportation Center improvements
  • Blue Line O’Hare Branch improvement.

Additionally, planned Intercity passenger rail service and improvements include:

  • The Quad Cities Passenger Rail Project
  • The Chicago to Rockford Intercity Passenger Rail expansion
  • Improvements to the Chicago to Carbondale Passenger Rail
  • The Springfield Rail Improvement Project

$23 billion of the funding will go toward fixing roads and bridges throughout the state. $100 million is allocated for improvements to bus shelters and transit centers, and $70 million will be spent on improving electric vehicle infrastructure. For the first time ever, there is also a dedicated $50 million of funding specifically for walking and biking projects. This will be administered through the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP), which now will double the size of the program and could fund 125 new projects every year.

The plan calls for a $1.8 billion tax increase, but the state’s roads, bridges, mass transit and building have been neglected for years, and this plan will not only address these issues, but also create thousands of jobs throughout the state.

An earlier Deltek report on 10 Hotspots in Government Contracting included upgrades to transit as a major priority for state governments. This report highlighted that Transit was a growing industry, as this category has seen a fairly significant increase in procurement activity over the past few years across the country. Vendors who are active in this industry should watch for upcoming contracting opportunities as these numerous initiatives get underway once the bill is approved and signed.

Source: CivSource