The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) recently awarded nearly $111.4 million to 37 transit systems statewide to advance 51 projects through the Rebuild Illinois capital program.
The program will invest $355 million in transit outside the Chicago area. This is the second round of competitive grants.
Grants will fund projects that provide more transportation options, promote an enhanced quality of life, and construct bus shelters, stations, and maintenance facilities.
In addition, IDOT awarded $108.3 million to the state’s 19 public ports, the remainder of $150 million available for improvement projects. Proposals were evaluated on their ability to advance IDOT’s Illinois Marine Transportation System Plan.
“These awards to our ports and transit systems will only strengthen our status as the multimodal transportation hub of North America,” Omer Osman, Illinois Transportation secretary, said. “Through Rebuild Illinois, Gov. (JB) Pritzker and IDOT continue to improve the state’s transportation system by seeking out the best projects that do the most good and getting our partners at the local level the resources they need to deliver them.”
The third and final round of funding for downstate transit needs will occur later this year.
Rebuild Illinois will invest $33.2 billion over six years to update the state’s aging transportation system.