Illinois awards $112M to boost downstate transit projects

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - State transportation officials have awarded $112 million to boost transit projects in Illinois' downstate communities ranging from construction of new bus shelters to new maintenance buildings.

The grants announced Friday by the Illinois Department of Transportation for 31 downstate transit providers are part of Gov. JB Pritzker's Rebuild Illinois capital program.

The largest single grant is $16.7 million for the Greater Peoria Mass Transit District, which will use the funding to improve existing buildings that house the district's maintenance and operations functions, and for other improvements.

Funding for the 30 other entities will go toward the purchase of new vehicles, the construction of new bus shelters, bus stations and maintenance facilities, Acting Transportation Secretary Omer Osman said.

'œTransit in our downstate communities can be a lifeline for getting to work or school, a doctor's appointment or a trip to the grocery store,'ť Osman said in a statement.

About $87 million of the funding is going for projects in urban areas, with another $25 million benefitting rural recipients.

The Rebuild Illinois program, passed last year, makes a total of $33.2 billion available over six years to boost the state's aging transportation system while creating jobs and promoting economic growth.