Thanks to Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Rebuild Illinois program, central Illinois construction workers should have a full plate of work in coming years. 

Over the next six years, $23.5 billion will upgrade, maintain and preserve 4,212 road miles and 9.2 million square feet of bridge work.

“All together, these roads and bridge projects will create and support hundreds of thousands of jobs over the next five years for hardworking Illinoisan in every part of the state,” Governor Pritzker said on October 21.  “Illinois has some of the most important roads in America — let’s make them outlast and outperform those across the nation.”

What to expect in central Illinois?  Here’s some program highlights of the larger projects, plus there are additional pages of planned improvements and engineering. 

For Illinois Department of Transportation District 4, which stretches from Bloomington-Normal through Clinton and Champaign-Urbana, here’s some of the larger projects.

* Interstate 55 from Lexington to the Livingston County line, 11.6 miles of resurfacing, plus ramp repairs;

* Veterans’ Parkway—Business 55: 4.7 miles resurfacing;

* Illinois Route 9/US 150—6.9 resurfacing miles;

* Bridge deck overlays on I-39, new bridge decks on Routes 9 and  136; I-55, I-74, US 51, U.S. 150 and Route 9 and 122 overlay,  Funk’s Grove rest stop improvements;

In IDOT District 4, which covers Peoria and Pekin to Galesburg, highlights include:

* I-74, 20 miles of resurfacing, including a new bridge deck and bridge repair;  Murray Baker Bridge on I-74, new deck, superstructure rehabilitation;

* U.S. 24-Route 9, 8.1 additional lane miles, new bridge;

* Route 8 & 116-bridge replacement; new bridge on Route 116 over BNSF Railroad;

* Illinois 18 at Henry—new bridge over the Illinois River;

* Illinois 29-resurfacing and reconstruction;

* in Pekin new lanes on Camp Street; Distillery Road reconstruction; Broadway overlay;

* US 24, new bridge at Panther Creek;

* County highway 13 overlay in Woodford County;

IDOT District 3 stretches from LaSalle through Livingston and Kankakee counties; $3.91 billion in projects there include:

* Interstate 57 through Ford, Iroquois and Kankakee counties—resurfacing, bridges and interchanges;

* Armour Road bridge over the Canadian National Railroad, Kankakee;

* I-55, overlay and bridge repairs, Livingston County.

* U.S. 24 overlay and bridges in Livingston, Ford and Iroquois counties

* U.S. 45 & 52, overlay and bridges, Kankakee, Ford & Iroquois counties;

* Illinois 17, overlay and bridges, Livingston, Kankakee & Grundy counties.

The Capital Development Board (CDB) that oversees state facilities, is also announcing $410 million in projects.  The largest is a multi-year, $233 million-plus rehabilitation of the Quincy Veterans Home.  In Kankakee $2.2 million was announced for emergency masonry repairs at Shapiro Developmental Center, plus roof replacements at Illinois State University, Western Illinois University and Spoon River College.

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