Big Lake County road projects on hold for now

State and local officials pressed Monday for an infusion of state money to fix roads and more, saying a bleak outlook will become even worse without one.

In separate events in Grayslake, an array of lawmakers and transportation professionals said Illinois will fall even further behind in needed road projects and could stand to lose $4 billion in federal matching funds without action within a year.

And while Lake County legislators were lauded for compiling a list of priority projects, most are at a standstill because of rising costs and a lack of revenue to purse them.

"Right now, the only thing happening on many of these projects is that the cost is increasing," said Diane O'Keefe, Region One engineer for the Illinois Department of Transportation.

"Basically, we're seeing things get worse as opposed to better."

Construction costs have increased 40 percent since 2002, she said.

O'Keefe was one of several speakers at the Lake County Partners' Investor Forum at the University Center. About 150 local, state and county officials listened to several speakers make a case for a funding bill.

There are two $25 billion possibilities: A version approved last year by the state Senate that has not been taken up by the House, which relied mainly on gambling expansion for revenue; and, the so-called Illinois Works Coalition, introduced earlier this year by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, which targets the sale of an 80 percent interest in the lottery for revenue.

The possibilities also were discussed later Monday at nearby College of Lake County. Democratic state Sen. Michael Bond of Grayslake, with IDOT Secretary Milton Sees and O'Keefe, briefed local mayors on snow removal and road projects.

"We're running out of money and our dollars buy less," Sees said.

Bond said $186 million in road projects targeted for Lake County would improve the quality of life and attract new business, which could temper residential property tax bills.

Those projects include the long-targeted widening of Route 83 in Antioch and Route 45 from Route 137 through Grayslake at a combined price of more than $80 million. Those are said to be ready for construction, but without extra money, it could be awhile.

"If it's not under way, it's not necessarily going to happen. None of the big projects are on deck yet," Bond said.

At the earlier meeting, O'Keefe said most of IDOT's upcoming projects involve resurfacing and bridge repair.

"There's a lot of work out here but not the kind of work you'd like to see," she said.