The Illinois Department of Transportation provided $7 million worth of grants on April 5 to help support 21 projects statewide that upgrade roads to accommodate local truck traffic – leveraging a total investment of $36 million that will help create jobs and boost economic activity in communities throughout Illinois, the agency said.

[Above photo by the Illinois DOT.]

“Illinois is the country’s transportation hub, with freight activity a cornerstone of the state’s economy,” noted Omer Osman, Illinois DOT’s acting secretary, in a statement. “We want our local partners to have the necessary tools to manage traffic safely and spur even more job creation and economic growth.”

That grant funding – made via the Illinois DOT’s Truck Access Route Program – allows counties, municipalities, and townships across the state to apply for assistance in upgrading roads to accommodate 80,000-pound trucks and become designated truck routes.

Projects can receive a maximum award of $900,000 to improve connections to other designated truck routes and businesses that generate truck traffic.

Meanwhile, in mid-March, Illinois DOT provided the third of six $250 million installments to local governments as part of the six-year $33.2 billion capital program Rebuild Illinois.

That funding supports all modes of transportation across Illinois, the agency said – roads and bridges, transit, waterways, freight and passenger rail, aviation, bicycle, and pedestrian facilities.