U.S. Transportation Secretary Slater Announces $16.4 Million To Illinois for Stevenson Expressway, Wacker Drive Projects |
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Topics: Rodney E. Slater
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Federal Highway Administration
December 21, 1999
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, December 21, 1999
Contact: Jim Pinkelman
Tel.: 202-366-0660
FHWA 80-99
CHICAGO -- U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater today announced that the state of Illinois will receive $16.4 million in Federal Highway Administration discretionary funds to help complete work on the Stevenson Expressway and the Wacker Drive Viaduct projects in Chicago.
"President Clinton and Vice President Gore recognize that an investment in our nation’s infrastructure is an investment in the American people," Slater said in an announcement at City Hall. "These two projects that we are helping to fund will yield significant dividends in terms of safety, mobility and economic growth to Chicago and the surrounding area."
Illinois will receive $6 million in Interstate Maintenance discretionary funds for the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) project and $10.4 million in Bridge Repair discretionary funds for the Wacker Drive Viaduct project.
"This grant will allow us to complete work on two vital infrastructure projects -- the Stevenson Expressway and Wacker Drive," said Governor Ryan. "The Stevenson Expressway is 15 years beyond its design life and is carrying more than four times the traffic it was designed to handle. It’s located in a highly industrialized economic corridor and its vital to freight transport. Upper and lower Wacker Drive provides passage to bus passengers, pedestrians, high-rise tenants and businesses. It is vital to the continued development of downtown Chicago. The deterioration of these roads not only affect citizen safety, but also the state’s economy. We must make certain that we do all that we can to protect both. I am glad that we could come together to get funding for this project."
"I’d like to thank Secretary Slater for recognizing the critical role our infrastructure plays in the economy of the entire region by funding these two major projects," said Chicago Mayor Daley. "We and our counterparts at the State of Illinois have worked very hard with the entire Illinois congressional delegation and with the U.S. Department of Transportation to secure these funds. They will go a long way in helping to repair these vital structures."
The six-lane Stevenson Expressway, which passes through the southwest area of Chicago, carries an average of 135,000 vehicles a day, including 24,000 heavy trucks. It is a key component of Chicago’s international and domestic freight hub, directly serving several rail-truck intermodal terminals that generate more than 3 million truck moves each year.
The Wacker Drive Viaduct is a two-way, two-level roadway with six lanes on the upper level and four lanes on the lower level that connects Harrison Street on the south with Lake Shore Drive on the east in Chicago. Upper Wacker Drive is posted with a 15-ton load limit and has temporary shoring, which eventually could require the closure of the lower level to through traffic, causing more congestion and reducing mobility in the downtown area.
FHWA discretionary funds are made available upon selection by the Secretary of Transportation after requests from states for funds for projects that meet criteria established by federal law and Department of Transportation regulations and procedures.
"These funds will enable these two critical transportation projects to move forward," FHWA Administrator Kenneth R. Wykle said. "This is the kind of strategic economic investment that will strengthen our transportation system and carry us into the new millennium."
In addition to interstate maintenance and bridge repair, funds are made available to states in five other categories: construction and improvement of roads formally designated as scenic byways; repair of deficient bridges that need seismic retrofitting; innovative bridge research; construction of highways on public lands such as national parks; and ferry boats and terminals to facilitate movement of people and goods across inland and coastal waterways.
For fiscal year 2000, the FHWA allocated $88.5 million for interstate maintenance and $65.3 million for major bridge repair. The agency also allocated $20.3 million for scenic byways, $21.8 million for seismic retrofitting for bridges, $15.9 million for innovative bridge research$42.8 million for highways on public lands, and $31.4 million for ferry boats and terminals.