Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration says it will spend the next six years trying to maintain and improve a deteriorating transit system. The $11.2 billion, six-year program released by the Illinois Department of Transportation is actually rosier than expected.
The plan anticipates maintaining 2,500 miles of highways and replacing or rehabilitating 500 bridges. Rail and mass transit also get attention in the plan.
Transportation Secretary Randy Blankenhorn reported that a newly approved federal highway plan will add $1 billion. And a trend toward lower motor-fuel tax revenues because of more efficient automobiles appears to be reversing.
But Blankenhorn warns it does nothing to get the state ahead. By the end of the program in 2022, the percentage of roads and bridges deemed "acceptable" will dip further.
