Years of declining investment have left Illinois' roads, rails and bridges in poor shape. We must invest an additional $43 billion over ten years to rebuild and upgrade our state's transportation network.
Fixing this will actually cost us less in the long run: From damaged vehicles to lost time, our deteriorating infrastructure is taking money out of our pockets and slowing down our economy.
Hey, Illinois: Let's fill this $43 billion pothole and get back in gear.
—Andrea B., Peoria
In Peoria, Andrea B. drives to work on pothole-marked University Street—one of the busiest streets in the city. There's no viable alternative to the daily experience of traveling on a street that has been filled with potholes for years.
According to the American Society for Civil Engineers, Illinois drivers spend an extra $3.7 billion a year on repair bills for damage from poor road conditions. That's $449 per driver every year.
—Charles H., Elmhurst
Charles H.'s alarm clock goes off at 4:40 and he gets ready to go downtown. He's taken the Metra, but there are often delays, and there are few trains he can take to get home at the end of his work day. Driving can mean long, long waits in traffic.
Completing the planned (but unfunded) improvements in the CREATE Program would save Illinois train commuters more than 800,000 hours of delays every year.
—Emily O., Chicago
Riding a bike is far more than recreation for Emily O.: it's her preferred mode of transportation throughout the year in Chicago. As an experienced bike rider, she well knows the benefits of biking—and relatively cheap and cost-effective improvements like more protected bike lanes the city can make to enhance safety and attract more riders.
According to navigation experts TomTom, drivers in metropolitan Chicago waste 114 hours a year sitting in traffic…
Efficient transportation is critical to UPS and its ability to provide superior service to its millions of customers. Illinois, and especially the Chicago region, is an important part of the UPS transportation network and is home to the company's largest ground sorting facility in the nation.
The effect and costs of poor infrastructure are staggering. At UPS, a five minute delay per driver per day costs $105 million per year. For UPS and other businesses around Illinois, investing more in transportation would not only reduce these costs, it would allow them to better serve customers.
Add your name to the growing list of Illinois residents and businesses with a message for our leaders Springfield: We are committed to investing more in our transportation system, and we must start in 2016.