The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) recently awarded $7 million to 21 projects statewide to upgrade roads to accommodate local truck traffic.
Funding is through IDOT’s Truck Access Route Program. The program allows townships, municipalities, and counties to apply for assistance to upgrading roads that accommodate 80,000-pound trucks and become designated truck routes. Projects also can improve connection to other designated truck routes and businesses that generate truck traffic.
Grants are awarded up to $900,000. In this round of funding, grants were awarded between $20,700 and the maximum.
“Illinois is the country’s transportation hub, with freight activity a cornerstone of the state’s economy,” Omer Osman, acting transportation secretary, said. “At IDOT, we want our local partners to have the necessary tools to manage traffic safely and spur even more job creation and economic growth.”
The projects leverage a total investment of $36 million and are expected to boost economic activity and create jobs.
Rebuild Illinois, the state’s largest capital program in its history, passed the General Assembly in 2019. The program will invest $33.2 billion to upgrade the state’s aging transportation system. It includes all modes of transportation: aviation, bicycle and pedestrian accommodations, freight and passenger rail, roads and bridges, transit, and waterways.