USDOT awards $52.8 million for Illinois rural roads safety project

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) received a $52.8 million grant to make a 6-mile rural stretch of a major Illinois state highway – Illinois Route 9 – in the city of Bloomington safer.

The money comes from the Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program (Rural), a $645 million initiative created by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). The program focuses on quality-of-life improvements in rural areas by investing in roads, bridges and other infrastructure that support passenger and freight mobility and safety. Rural roads experience an inordinately high fatality rate, according to USDOT.

IDOT will use the funding to rebuild a portion of Illinois Route 9 in the city of Bloomington.

The project will resurface pavement, remove and replace curbs and gutters and upgrade sidewalk ramps to ADA standards. Plans also call for 3.4 miles of bike lanes, 1.4 miles of shared-use lanes, drainage improvements and modernized traffic signal equipment.

The state will also relocate a bus stop and improve bicycle and pedestrian facilities near the highway. IDOT expects to award the first of five construction contracts in spring 2024.

The Illinois Route 9 project is one of 18 projects selected by the Rural program for FY 2023 through FY 2024. The program will invest $2 billion in projects through 2026.

^{Strategic Partnerships, Inc.}^{can provide information on contract opportunities, plus existing and future government funding. For more information, contact}^{research@spartnerships.com}^.