State’s 6-year highway spending plan warns of ‘rapid deterioration’

The first multi-year highway improvement plan proposed by the Rauner administration on Thursday continues a pattern of shrinking spending on roads and bridges, and state transportation officials warned about “a rapid deterioration in the overall condition of Illinois infrastructure due to a lack of sustainable investment.”

The fiscal 2016-21 statewide construction plan estimates spending of $8.4 billion, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. That’s roughly $200 million less than the spending level laid out in the fiscal 2015-20 highway program under Gov. Pat Quinn. It’s also more than $1.1 billion less than the state roads program for fiscal 2014-19…Please click here to read Jon Hilkevitch’s story in the Tribune, or here to read more about the program.