We need to thank our legislators in Congress over here in the District of Columbia for pushing a Federal Transportation Bill that will have a LOT of pork for Illinois and the Chicago area. Bolded are the parts that I'm interested in:
New transportation bill bumps IL funding 33%
By Paul Merrion
Federal funding to build a western route into OÂ'Hare International Airport will be enacted as part of the federal transportation bill now awaiting final congressional approval, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Plano) announced Friday.
The bill increases the share of federal transportation spending that Illinois gets on an annual basis by 33%, or about $300 million a year, in addition to a slew of special projects earmarked for funding, led by $140 million for the long-sought western access to OÂ'Hare.
Â"The projects of national significance are huge,Â" the speaker said in a conference call with reporters. Â"For Illinois, this is a pretty good piece of legislation.Â"
Please CLICK HERE to view a complete list of infrastructure projects.
The bill also changes how taxes on ethanol are counted in the formula used to calculate the stateÂ's share of federal funds, which will mean an additional $80 million a year for Illinois Â"forever,Â" he noted, because the state is the largest user of the alternative fuel.
Another noteworthy Chicago project funded by the bill is $100 million for the so-called CREATE project to reconfigure freight railroad lines and road intersections to reduce bottlenecks. But thatÂ's only a down payment on what is expected to take at least $1.5 in public and private funding to complete.
The bill, which is expected to clear the House today and win final Senate approval this weekend, also includes a 28% increase in mass transit funding, which should mean an additional $500 million for Illinois over the five-year life of the bill, according to the speaker.
Other local projects include $25 million for continued reconstruction of Wacker Drive in Chicago and $16 million for advanced education of freight industry professionals at Northwestern UniversityÂ's University Transportation Center.
The bill also clears the way for two extensions of the Metra commuter railroad and the Chicago Transit AuthorityÂ's Circle line, according to the speaker, who said the amount of funding for transit projects wasnÂ't specified in the bill.
In addition, the bill will fund the 33-mile Prairie Parkway project, which runs through his far west suburban Fox Valley district, as well as bridges in St. Charles and Elgin and much larger bridge projects across the Mississippi River at East St. Louis and the Quad Cities.
According to an analysis of the bill by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Il.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.), Illinois will average $1.24 billion a year in transportation funding, up from $927 million under the previous law.
Illinois transit projects are projected to receive a total of $2.1 billion in formula funding over the five-year life of the bill. That compares with $1.9 billion over six years under the previous highway bill.
At that level of spending, the bill is expected to create more than 24,000 jobs in Illinois, the senators noted.
While Illinois still generates more taxes on gasoline and other fuels than it gets back in transportation spending, getting a fairer share of federal spending has been a top priority of the senators, the speaker and other members of the Illinois congressional delegation this time around.
Â"WeÂ've moved from being a huge donor state to much less of one,Â" the speaker noted. Â"IllinoisÂ' share is higher than it ever has been.Â"> |
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