AASHTO Journal, 19 October 2012
Illinois Department of Transportation officials joined Governor Pat Quinn and other elected officials last week to announce plans for a transportation infrastructure project expected to cut down on congestion, improve safety for drivers, and create about 600 construction jobs.
A new bridge will be constructed over Illinois Route 5, while additional lanes will be added to the roadway to do away with a major bottleneck in the Moline area. The $47 million project is part of the Illinois Jobs Now! program, the state’s biggest construction program ever. Since its creation in 2009, $14 billion has gone to transportation projects to improve more than 6,600 miles of road, fix or reconstruct 1,000 bridges, and create 140,000 jobs for highway projects.
“The governor’s unwavering commitment to improve our state’s infrastructure is creating jobs and enhancing safety,” said IDOT Secretary Ann Schneider in a statement. “Thanks to Illinois Jobs Now!, the traveling public in this area can expect better access, less congestion, and a safer commute.”
The first phase of the project builds a bridge west of 38th Street over Route 5, completing connections to the local system on each side of the roadway. This should be completed by fall 2014. Once that portion of the project is done, IDOT will begin phase two, which will add two extra lanes to expand Route 5 from a four- to six-lane highway. Phase two will also improve intersections and replace culverts and extensions, all to be done by fall 2016.
More information on the Illinois Jobs Now! program is available at bit.ly/ILjobsnow.