Audit: Illinois roads worsen despite extra funding

SPRINGFIELD — An audit says more than 1 in 7 Illinois roads need to be repaired, four years after the state approved tax increases to pay for a $31 billion road construction program.

The Springfield bureau of Lee Enterprises newspapers reports 15 percent of Illinois roads needed to be repaired in 2012. That’s up from 10.8 percent in 2010.

A spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Transportation says more highways need to be repaired because the department has been focusing on fixing bridges. The agency’s repaired more than 1,100 bridges since mid-2009.

The data was included in report released this week by Illinois Auditor General Bill Holland.

Earlier this month, an advocacy group said without “significant investment,” one in every three miles of roads will be in “unacceptable” condition by 2018.