IDOT touts 2024 transportation improvements

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Transportation has outlined its progress made across the state in 2024.

Made possible by Gov. JB Pritzker’s Rebuild Illinois capital program, projects transformed highways, transit, railroads, airports, waterways and active transportation everywhere Illinois residents call home, creating safer and more reliable travel options while boosting economic opportunity for generations to come.

Passed in 2019, Rebuild Illinois is investing $45 billion in the state’s aging infrastructure, creating jobs and promoting economic growth. Through Sept. 30, approximately $17.2 billion in improvements were made statewide on 6,791 miles of highway, 711 bridges and 1,031 additional safety improvements, ranging from routine maintenance projects and minor resurfacings to extensive interstate and bridge reconstructions.

“Our state’s infrastructure has been under a full-scale revitalization since I signed Rebuild Illinois into law,” said Gov. Pritzker. “I am thrilled to see the progress we made in 2024, and I look forward to another productive year for capital projects as we continue to modernize our infrastructure while growing our economy and creating good-paying jobs for Illinoisans.”

In June, Gov. Pritzker and IDOT released the largest multi-year construction program in state history: $41.42 billion over six years. Covering fiscal years 2025 to 2030, the multi-year program is both comprehensive and multimodal, touching every Illinois county.

“Illinois strengthened its role this past year as the transportation hub of North America,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman, who is retiring. “Across the modes and up and down the state, investments were made to make our system of transportation more equitable and accessible while improving quality of life for people who live and work here.”

Highways and bridges

Major progress was made on the $1.3 billion Interstate 80 project in Will County, a Rebuild Illinois cornerstone. The bridges over Hickory Creek, Richards Street and Rowell Avenue/Canadian National Railroad are now complete, marking a $96 million investment that jump-started the overall project. Bridges over I-80 on Shepley Road, River Road and Wheeler Avenue have been rebuilt. Interchanges have been reconstructed at Houbolt Road and U.S. 30.

Reconstruction and widening are underway on 11 miles of I-80 between Ridge and River roads. New interchanges with I-55 and Larkin Avenue (Illinois 7) will break ground in 2025. Work on the Chicago Street (U.S. 52/Illinois 53) and Center Street interchanges and the new Des Plaines River bridges is anticipated to begin in 2026. 

In Chicago, work is wrapping up on the express lanes of the Kennedy Expressway (I-90/94) during the second of a three-year, $150 million rehabilitation project. This year’s phase included the rehabilitation reversible gate system. Additionally, new overhead signs were installed, along with LED lighting upgrades, pavement patching and structural painting. The project’s final phase in 2025 will focus on the outbound lanes.

The modified I-55/Illinois 59 interchange in Joliet and Shorewood opened in early October. The $93.5 million project converted an interchange with partial access between I-55 and Illinois 59 to accommodate full access in a diverging-diamond design to enhance traffic flow and safety.

In Rockford, reconstruction of the I-39 and U.S. 20 interchange wrapped up in November. The $98.8 million project is the first piece of a larger $302 million multi-year project to improve I-39 between the U.S. 20/Harrison Avenue interchange and Blackhawk Road. A second project that began last spring, the $44.3 million conversion of the Harrison Avenue/U.S. 20 and I-39 interchange from a traditional cloverleaf to diverging-diamond design, will be substantially complete by the end of 2025.

A $31.5 million reconstruction of U.S. 20/Illinois 84 through Galena wrapped up in late October. The project consisted of installing new pavement, curbs and gutters, as well as storm sewers and retaining walls. Other features included a bike-and-pedestrian path and colored pavement in keeping with the city’s status as a national historic landmark.

The new eastbound $167 million McClugage Bridge between Peoria and East Peoria partially opened in December. Highlighted by a 650-foot steel arch, the bridge features three lanes for traffic and a path with an observation platform.

In Champaign, a $251.8 million project to reconstruct the I-57/74 interchange reached a milestone in November with the opening of its first new ramp, connecting westbound I-74 to northbound I-57. The interchange is estimated to be completed late next year.

The first of two spans that will make up the new I-270 Chain of Rocks Bridge in the Metro East opened in December, carrying the eastbound lanes. Westbound traffic is expected to relocate to the new bridge in January while the second span is built over the next two years. The $496.2 million joint Illinois-Missouri project is expected to be complete at the end of 2026.

A two-year, $50 million resurfacing of nearly 8 miles of I-70 from just east of the I-70/I-57 interchange to just east of the Effingham-Cumberland County line was completed this fall.

On I-57, a lane expansion and bridge replacement project has begun, stretching from Atchison Creek to south of Mount Vernon. The overall $51.9 million project is expected to be completed by summer 2027, part of a long-term modernization of I-57 in southern Illinois.

On I-64, the $101.3 million reconstruction with bridge repairs from Illinois 51 to I-57 started in the spring, followed by the groundbreaking in the summer on the $136 million, six-year replacement of the two bridges over the Wabash River.

The state of rail

The $544 million Springfield Rail Improvements Project reached a milestone with the August opening of underpasses on Madison and Jefferson streets.

Progress continued in restarting passenger rail service between Rockford and Chicago. Service is tentatively scheduled to begin in 2027, with stops anticipated in Elgin, Huntley and Belvidere. Rebuild Illinois is providing $275 million for the project.

The launch of Amtrak’s Borealis service from St. Paul, Minn., to Chicago in May proved to be a success, reaching the 100,000-customer mark by late October. Sponsored by Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, the trains offer coach and business class accommodations as well as other rider accommodations to pair with stunning views of the Mississippi River.

Multimodalism at work

In the Metro East, May marked the opening of a new administration building for Madison County Transit, a $14.7 million investment via Rebuild Illinois. The new 26,416-square-foot building in Pontoon Beach replaced four aging structures.

A new $15 million public safety building opened in July to serve riders throughout St. Clair County and the entire Metrolink system. The Emerson Park Transit Center in East St. Louis accommodates St. Clair County Metrolink Sheriff’s deputies, a transit operations control center and the St. Clair County dispatch center.

In October, IDOT announced seven airports as “Airports of the Year,” celebrating the accomplishments of aviation in Illinois. Peoria’s Gen. Wayne A. Downing International Airport won for Primary Airport of the Year.

Awards

“Connecting Illinois via High-Speed Rail” was a Top 12 finalist for project of the year in the annual America’s Transportation Awards. The $2 billion project upgraded the corridor, increasing train speeds from 79 mph to 110 mph and improving multiple stations and rail crossings. It marked the fifth time in the past seven years that IDOT has been a finalist for the national project of the year.

The Office of Communications won a record number of awards at American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ Committee on Transportation Communications in September. The awards in the yearly skills competition are given for excellence in transportation communication. The IDOT team, with five wins, took home the top prize in all but one of the categories entered, including top communications campaign, publication of the year, photo of the year, best creative use of social media and best external publication.

Initiatives

Illinois infrastructure received a boost from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In 2024, a combined $290.9 million in grants was awarded to the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program, the largest award in its history. The award will be matched by the other partners to leverage a total public-private investment of $485.3 million to accelerate improvements to the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project, considered the linchpin of CREATE.

Work to create a network of fixed monuments referred to as Continuously Operating Reference Stations began over the summer, with installations in Litchfield, Petersburg and Jacksonville. The stations will serve as reliable reference points to continuously record and transmit 3D location data to satellites and other receivers in the area, enabling them to determine their position with greater precision. When installations are complete, there will be approximately 70 sites statewide, forming a spatial network that connects to a Global Navigation Satellite System.

On World EV Day in May, Gov. Pritzker announced $25.3 million in grants to build charging stations along interstate corridors through the initial round of funding made available from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program. A total of 37 projects throughout the state were chosen in this first round of NEVI funding, which will facilitate the construction of 182 new charging ports and advance Gov. Pritzker’s commitment to make the state an industry leader and fight climate change by putting a million electric vehicles on Illinois roads by 2030.

A new “It’s Not a Game” campaign launched this year, leveraging the influence of college athletes to spread critical safety messages to their peers. Thirty-five student athletes from Illinois schools used their social media platforms to address impaired driving and pedestrian safety.

A number of economic development program grants were distributed to help communities throughout the state connect and improve to new jobs. In Mattoon, $2 million ​ helped the city construct new roads or upgrade existing roads to the Emerald Acres Sports Connection, an $80 million complex scheduled for completion in 2025. A $1.5 million grant aided Peru in constructing Master Builders Way, a road leading to a new GAF roofing manufacturing plant that opened in an industrial park near I-80.

Commitment to diversity

In 2024, IDOT exceeded its aspirational goal of 20.27% for participation of firms in the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program, highlighting the commitment to diversify the state’s contracting community and level the playing field for Illinois businesses wishing to take part in highway projects. By reaching a 20.33% participation mark, IDOT surpassed its DBE goal for the first time in at least 15 years.

A new DBE resource center opened in Shorewood as part of Gov. Pritzker’s directive to include small, local businesses on the I-80 reconstruction project. Furnished with a computer lab and office equipment, the resource center will act as a free one-stop shop offering one-on-one assistance for firms that want to become certified DBEs and learn about contracting opportunities in the area.