Villivalam announces historic $41 billion multi-year infrastructure plan

MCCOOK – State Senator Ram Villivalam announced the launch of a historic multi-year infrastructure program to build and repair infrastructure in all 102 Illinois counties, continuing the transformative impact of the Rebuild Illinois initiative .

“It is imperative that we continue to invest in our transportation system – a vital resource for all communities across our state,” said Villivalam (D-Chicago). “Through these new investments, we are ensuring that everyone has access to health services, economic opportunities, visits to loved ones and much more.

The record $41.42 billion multi-year program is attributed in part to Rebuild Illinois’ early engineering and planning efforts and the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, which spurred a increased construction activity. The previous record was $40.99 billion in 2023.

“We are pleased to see significant investments being made to build, improve and maintain our state’s highways and multi-modal transportation systems,” said IL AFL-CIO President Tim Drea.

The new plan is multimodal and comprehensive, investing in roads, bridges, aviation, mass transit, freight and passenger rail, waterways, and bicycle and pedestrian amenities. It will invest $29.65 billion in national roads and bridges, including $5.3 billion identified for the current fiscal year. An additional $11.77 billion was allocated to other modes of transportation, including mass transit, freight and passenger rail, aviation, and ports and waterways.

“Investing in infrastructure is one of our state’s most critical assets, and Illinois will remain a strong economic leader while providing an increasingly better quality of life for our residents,” said Bob Reiter , president of the Chicago Federation of Labor. “Continuing our state’s commitment to creating jobs by investing in our roads, rails, ports and bridges is a commitment to our economic future. »

The program will build and improve 3,214 miles of roads as well as 8.8 million square feet of bridge decks across the state system, with funding planned to maintain 843 miles of roads and more than one million square feet of bridge deck overseen by local governments.

To learn more about the new plan, click here.