Brady PieperIllinois Tollway is approving a new strategic plan that will provide essential construction and design services for existing infrastructure projects and complement a more than $15 billion investment into forward-thinking capital improvements.
The Illinois Tollway Board of Directors is unveiling the $2 billion Bridging the Future Capital Plan, a seven-year strategic framework with which the board will pursue transformative transportation projects that improve Illinois’ tollways safety, efficiency and long-term vision. Developed in collaboration with transportation stakeholders and the public, the community-driven plan will leverage diverse, unique input and investment priorities to move the state’s transportation sector into the next generation.
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“The Bridging the Future capital plan is a smart and balanced approach that ensures the completion of critical improvements as we continue the engagement necessary to advance our long-term capital planning process,” Board Chairman Arnie Rivera said in a press release. “The Illinois Tollway Board has a fiscal responsibility to prioritize strategic regional projects with system upkeep to leverage funds efficiently.”
The Illinois Tollway maintains and operates approximately 294 miles of roadways in 12 of Northern Illinois’s counties, including the Reagan Memorial (I-88), the Veterans Memorial (I-355), the Jane Addams Memorial (I-90), the Tri-State (I-94/I-294/I-80) and the Illinois Route 390 tollways. As the board receives no federal or state funding for maintenance or operations, the board will utilize approximately $2.06 billion in bond revenues, proceeds and remaining capital funds to maintain, modernize and rebuild tollway infrastructure over the next seven years.
Without raising toll rates, the capital plan will initiate development on four tollway goals and objectives in the coming years: connecting infrastructure, improving freight and driver mobility, modernizing the tollway system and preparing the sector for tomorrow.
The capital plan’s first initiative, connecting infrastructure, will see an investment of $258 million to support the design, planning and construction of safe and efficient intersections. This effort will include connectivity projects at the I-355 and I-88 intersection, the I-88 at York Road crossing and Illinois Route 390 at County Farm Road.
The highest-funded initiative, improving mobility, will support the widening and reconstruction of tollway and bridge infrastructure throughout the state. Seeking to improve safety, efficiency and multimodal connectivity, the capital plan will spend $725 million to rebuild local crossroads and mainline bridges on I-294, railroad bridges on I-294 and I-88 and local crossroad bridges at the north end of I-94.
The goal of modernizing the system is to update facilities and structures while enhancing the long-term resilience of Illinois’ transportation infrastructure. The capital plan will allocate about $532 million for modernization efforts, including projects that repair aging or obsolete bridges, rehabilitate pavement and upgrade toll plazas and Tollway-operated facilities.
The capital plan’s final initiative, preparing for tomorrow, will prioritize technology investments, studies to advance safety and efficiency and the development of electrified charging infrastructure for the integration of electric vehicles. For this initiative, Illinois Tollway anticipates utilizing $485 million for active traffic management technology, back-office system improvements and funding for additional pilot programs and supporting studies.
In all, the Bridging the Future Capital Plan builds upon a previous Illinois-led capital funding initiative seeking to improve the state’s transportation network — the recently-updated Move Illinois Capital Program. Complementing the program, Bridge the Future will provide additional support for Move Illinois’ existing infrastructure projects and address the needs of the agency’s next long-term capital program, especially as Move Illinois is slated for completion in 2027.
Between the two programs, Illinois Tollway will invest nearly $1.6 billion in grants and funding for transportation infrastructure next year. Beyond 2026, Illinois Tollway’s Bridging the Future Capital Plan will allocate nearly $400 million annually up until 2031. More information on initial funding allocations and the full program is available here.
Photo courtesy Dwayne, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
