x
Breaking News
More () »

House passes Highway Transportation Bill, New I-74 Bridge to Benefit

The U.S. House passed a six year Highway Transportation Bill on Thursday, November 5, 2015. The bill, which calls for $264 billion in spending on highways, $55 ...
I-74 bridge

The U.S. House passed a six year Highway Transportation Bill on Thursday, November 5, 2015.

The bill, which calls for $264 billion in spending on highways, $55 billion on transit, and about $9 billion on safety programs, passed the House Thursday by a vote of 363 to 64. About 80% of the I-74 Bridge project is funded by the federal government.

Back in July, Executive Director of the Bi State Regional Commission, Denise Bulat said, “As long as the normal federal dollars that are allocated to our states every year continue to flow to them, [the federal government] will be able to fund the I-74 Bridge.”

“I am hopeful that we will continue moving forward, so that we can finally replace the I-74 bridge, expand U.S. 20 and provide a job creating economic boost to manufacturers like Caterpillar and John Deere,” Congresswoman Cheri Bustos said Thursday.

It’s unclear how much money will be awarded to the I-74 Bridge through the Transportation Bill, but it now heads to a conference committee, where the differences between this house bill and a U.S. Senate bill need to be worked out by November 20th. Otherwise, the Highway Trust fund is depleted.

Funding from the state of Illinois is also a major concern though. In July, Governor Rauner’s office told News 8 the I-74 Bridge funding was under review. No word yet on when that decision will come down. About $100 million had already been spent on the I-74 bridge project in July. It is expected to be finished by 2020 with a total price tag of $1.2 billion.

Before You Leave, Check This Out