Illinois' senior U.S. Senator, Dick Durbin, says Congress needs to act before the federal highway fund is depleted. He says Tuesday in Washington he will help introduce ways to pay for it.
Construction crews continued their work re-paving a road passing over Interstate 72, near Springfield, as Sen. Durbin talked about the importance of these sorts of projects across Illinois. Projects jointly funded by the federal and state governments.
"It's an effort to make sure that our highways are modern and safe."
An effort that Durbin says will be endangered should Congress not come up with additional funding by next month. Without the federal cash, projects could be delayed or halted altogether.
Durbin says the money could come from closing what he calls "tax loopholes", though he wasn't ready to get into specifics.
But that's just for the short-term, enough to sustain the fund through this summer's construction season.
Durbin, a Democrat, says Congress will eventually need to research a long-term funding solution.
