Chicago – and actually the entire state of Illinois – needs more money for infrastructure.  currently, according to Illinois DOT acting secretary Matt Magalis, at least $39 billion is needed.  $13 -$15 billion of this would be used in the next decade just for highway maintenance.

Public transit isn’t looking all that good either; $19 billion is needed for that.  And state airports require an investment of $250 million.  A further $800 million is needed for passenger rail and $4 billion for freight rail.  and we haven’t even started talking about the huge amount of capital required to bolster highway capacity.

As Magalis explained:

“Our funding needs are great, but in order for us to drive our economy and our great state forward, we must invest in the maintenance and expansion of our multimodal system.”

Arcadis has been appointed principle contractor for the upgrade of Chicago’s metro red line. The project – valued at $102m – will be a joint project undertaken by Jacobs and Ardmore Roderick and the CTA.  Arcadis will lead the endeavor.  15.4km of track – currently over 100 years old – will be renovated.  this will hopefully lead to reduced need of maintenance which delays city commuters.  Red line stations at Argyle, Berwyn, Bryn Mawr and Lawrence will be completely reconstructed as part of the project. LeeAnn Tomas-Foster of Arcadis explained:

 “This project will improve rider experience, reduce overcrowding and help CTA meet rapidly growing demand for transit service in Chicago. We are honored to work with CTA to improve quality of life for Chicagoans.” 

This is a good start to the infrastructure problems of both the city and the state.