Why orange barrels could soon be part of your commute

SPRINGFIELD - Suburban drivers will almost immediately get to see the effects of a $9 billion state road construction program that Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law Friday morning.

"We put together, I think, a wonderful team and a very good package to invest in transportation in Illinois. We fix up our roads, fill the potholes, deal with our bridges and make them safe, and invest in public transit that takes so many people to work and is so indispensable," Quinn said.

According to a preliminary list of ready projects put together by the Illinois Department of Transportation, more than $450 million in construction spending is slated to begin this month, including road resurfacing projects topping $6 million on Golf and Rand roads and Touhy Avenue in Des Plaines; $3.3. million for Oakton Street in Park Ridge, Niles, Morton Grove and Des Plaines; and $1.7 million for Higgins Road in Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates.

The plan also spends more than $5 million to reconstruct the Half Day Road/Milwaukee Avenue intersection in Lincolnshire; nearly $2 million for road resurfacing on Dundee Avenue in East Dundee and Elgin; and $3 million for various road patching projects in Lake County.

There are myriad other projects scattered across the region.

"Unlike previous years, we are actually taking the expert advice of IDOT engineers, rather than playing politics with this," said state Senate President John Cullerton, a Democrat, who noted there are no projects in his Chicago district. The transportation department previously identified "shovel-ready" projects to take advantage of federal stimulus money.

Illinois will use $200 million from the state's road fund to borrow $2 billion for road projects and take $100 million from general funds to borrow $1 billion for transit work. The federal government will kick in $6 billion. There are no tax or fee increases in the plan.

Transit funding includes $290 million for Metra rail service and $68 million for Pace buses.

"This is a great jump start on our most pressing needs, but we have a lot of catching up to do. We need an ongoing state capital plan to address the significant needs of the system," said Steve Schlickman, RTA executive director.

The construction plan was approved in both the state House and the Senate Thursday night. State Sen. Donne Trotter, a Chicago Democrat, said the plan will create up to 80,000 jobs.

The investment in transportation "will provide jobs - right now - to people who need work - right now - this spring, this summer, this fall, and into next year and beyond," Quinn said. "We understand the importance of jobs in our state. We want to make sure that everybody in our state has the opportunity to have a good job."

Quinn said this construction program is only a first step and he plans to continue pushing for his $26 billion Illinois Jobs Now! infrastructure plan. Quinn wants to use higher license plate and driver's license fees to finance that plan, but Cullerton has said a gas tax hike of at least eight cents per gallon might be needed to pay for the larger construction plan.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Related documents</h2> <ul class="morePdf"> <li><a href="/pdf/repairspring09.pdf">List of repair projects </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>