SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Quad Cities to Chicago passenger rail project and the I-80 bridge replacement project are among two of the biggest local projects receiving funding in the $41 billion Rebuild Illinois program announced on Friday, June 14.
Gov. JB Pritzker, the Illinois Department of Transportation, and local officials announced the $41.42 billion plan, set to span over six years and all modes of transportation, including roads, bridges, rail, aviation, pedestrian, and marine.
The program will build or improve 3,214 miles of roads and 8.8 million square feet of bridge deck on the state system, with anticipated funding to maintain 843 miles of roads and more than one million square feet of bridge deck overseen by local municipalities.
Highway Projects
Illinois is broken up into nine different Department of Transportation districts. In the Quad Cities region, District 2 includes Carroll, Henry, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Rock Island, and Whiteside counties. District 2 is set to get $1.9 billion in improvements during FY2025-2030 on its 1,606 miles of highway and 837 bridges.
Carroll County
- Illinois 84: $4.9 million for resurfacing of 10.4 miles from 0.2 miles north of Doty Road south of Savanna to the Whiteside County line.
Henry County
- I-80: $25 million for resurfacing 3 miles, a new bridge deck and other bridge work from Rock River to U.S. 6, as well as a bridge deck overlay and other bridge work over the Rock River and the Iowa Interstate Railroad north of U.S. 6.
Jo Daviess County
- U.S. 20: $30.8 million for reconstruction of 4.1 miles, bridge replacement, truck climbing lane, land acquisition, culvert replacement and additional improvements from 0.2 miles west of Logemann Road to Rush Street in Stockton.
Lee County
- U.S. 30: $3.6 million for resurfacing and patching of 7.4 miles from Illinois 251 to DeKalb County line.
Rock Island County
- I-74: $100.6 million for reconstruction and additional lanes of 3 miles, bridge replacements, interchange reconstruction, lighting, culvert replacements, land acquisition and additional improvements at Illinois 5 interchange in Moline.
- I-80: $270.5 million to replace the bridge over the Mississippi River. Illinois is leading the project, with Iowa sharing equally in the cost.
- Illinois 92: $54 million for the reconstruction of 3.7 miles, traffic signal replacement and ADA improvements from Illinois 84 (North) in Silvis to 48th Street in Moline.
- 27th Street: $58.2 million for bridge replacement at the Rock River, a bridge rehabilitation over I-280, reconstruction of 0.7 mile and other improvements from 52nd Avenue to Airport Road in Moline.
Whiteside County
- I-88: $19 million for resurfacing and patching of 8 miles and construction engineering from Elkhorn Creek 0.1 mile west of U.S. 30 Spur to U.S. 30 0.4 mile west of Lee County line.
Also in the Quad Cities region, District 4 includes Fulton, Henderson, Knox, McDonough, and Mercer counties. District 4 is set to get $2.1 billion in improvements during FY2025-2030 on its 1,639 miles of highway and 706 bridges.
Fulton, Knox and McDonough counties
- Illinois 41: $29.3 million for resurfacing of 11.7 miles and utility adjustments from Illinois 116 to Illinois 9.
Fulton and Peoria counties
- U.S. 24/Illinois 9: $137.6 million for expansion to four lanes on 8.6 miles and bridge replacements from Banner to Kingston Mines.
Henderson County
- U.S. 34: $174.5 million for new construction of 8.7 miles from west of Carman Road to Township Road 111.
Warren County
- U.S. 34: $64 million for additional lanes of 4.6 miles and utility adjustments from Township Road 190 east of Biggsville to 20th Street south of Kirkwood.
Passenger Rail
The Rebuild Illinois infrastructure plan also includes &744 million for passenger rail expansion and improvements. The report states that the funding identified is "secured or estimated as reasonably available for FY 2025-2030 but does not cover the entire cost of buildout for all the projects." (Page 33)
Chicago to Quad Cities Intercity Passenger Rail Expansion
The Chicago to Quad Cities project aims to restore intercity passenger rail service in the Quad Cities and is a key element for improving connectivity between major Midwest cities. The BNSF portion of the project (Chicago to Wyanet) is complete, and the Iowa interstate portion of the project (Wyanet to Moline) is currently in preliminary engineering design. Funding for the project includes an FRA grant of $177 million, $45 million through Illinois Jobs Now, and additional funding through the Rebuild Illinois program of $225 million.
Aviation
Carroll County
- Tri-Township, Savanna- Relocate automated weather observation system, $543,334
- Tri-Township, Savanna- Construct partial Parallel taxiway Phase 1, $333,334
Henry County
- Kewanee Municipal, Kewanee- Construct snow removal equipment building and access, $730,000
- Kewanee Municipal, Kewanee- Rehabilitate Taxiway A, $1,165,000
- Kewanee Municipal, Kewanee- Replace beacon, $333,334
Knox County
- Galesburg Municipal, Galesburg- Rehabilitate Runway 3/21, $4,270,000
- Galesburg Municipal, Galesburg- Improve runway safety area on all 4 runway ends, $2,500,000
- Galesburg Municipal, Galesburg- Construct hangars, $800,000
- Galesburg Municipal, Galesburg- Construct hangar access pavements, $350,000
LaSalle County
- Illinois Valley Regional, Peru- Develop an airport master plan, $666,666
- Illinois Valley Regional, Peru- Rehabilitate Runway 18-36, $850,000
Lee County
- Dixon Municipal, Dixon- Replace automated weather observation system $642,222
- Dixon Municipal, Dixon- Terminal modernization, $500,000
- Dixon Municipal, Dixon- Construct T-hangar, $629,136
McDonough County
- Macomb Municipal, Macomb- Rehabilitate T-hangars, $653,334
- Macomb Municipal, Macomb- Airfield pavement maintenance, $333,334
Rock Island County
- Quad City International, Moline- Improve airport drainage, $4,914,000
- Quad City International, Moline- Improve/modify/rehabilitate terminal building, $10,229,048
- Quad City International, Moline- Reconstruct Taxiway F, $3,000,000
Warren County
- Monmouth Municipal- Rehabilitate runway 3/21, $2,144,444
- Monmouth Municipal- Replace beacon, $166,666
- Monmouth Municipal- Improve runway safety area, $500,000
Whiteside County
- Whiteside County, Rock Falls- Rehabilitate Runway 7/25, $4,900,000
- Whiteside County, Rock Falls- Corporate hangar, $675,556
Marine
Carroll County
- Upper Mississippi River Internation Port District D2, Scales Mound- Land acquisition, $7,000,000
- Upper Mississippi River Internation Port District D2, Scales Mound- Port master plan study, $400,000
LaSalle County
- Ottawa Port District, Ottawa- Ottawa Port District intermodal rain yard, $10,285,000
Transit
Carroll County
- County of Carroll, Mount Carroll- Bus garage, $400,000
Jo Daviess County
- County of JoDaviess, Galena- Vehicle storage and maintenance building, $1,200,000
LaSalle County
- City of Ottawa- Maintenance garage rehabilitation, $140,460
- City of Ottawa- Mobile vehicle surveillance system expansion, $65,000
Lee County
- Lee County, Dixon- Administration and mechanical vehicles, $65,200
McDonough County
- City of Macomb- Replacement buses, $2,000,000
- City of Macomb- Facility renovations, $1,000,000
- City of Macomb- Demand response software, $250,000
Rock Island County
- Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District D2, Moline- Renovations, mechanical and HVAC upgrades, $1,750,000
- Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District D2, Moline- Replace six buses with zero emission buses, $6,000,000
- Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District D2, Moline- Operations and Maintenance Center expansion, $2,000,000
- Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District D2, Moline- Electric car chargers, $600,000