Illinois's infrastructure costs you a lot of money

CHICAGO (WLS) – If you drive in Illinois, it costs you more than the average. But how much? Try $ 18.3 billion at the state level, $ 2,559 per driver in the Chicago area.

And you do not have to go too far to find out why: bumpy and cluttered roads and lack of security features according to TRIP, a nonprofit research group based in Washington, DC, and made up of a number of people. stakeholders in the transportation sector.

In 2017, there were 462 deaths on the only roads in the Chicago area.

"The lack of proper design of road safety, good lighting, better facilities for pedestrians and cyclists, rough strips on some roads and better design of intersections," said Rocky Morretti , Director of Policy and Research at TRIP. "All of these can help to enhance people's safety."

Morretti spoke at a press conference in the offices of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, where an ICC official, Candace Gerritsen, pointed out that people needed to be interested to the report entitled "Illinois Transportation: By the Numbers".

"We encourage our legislators to take the results of this report seriously and to take swift bipartite action in a transportation modernization agenda in the next two weeks," she said.

The report says Chicago drivers are paying $ 633 more in vehicle fees, $ 387 in safety-related expenses and $ 1,539 in lost time and fuel due to congestion. That's how you get $ 2,559 per driver. According to Statewide TRIP, this represents $ 18.3 billion in losses.

The problem of congestion in Chicago is particularly well illustrated by the Jane Byrne interchange, the most congested exchange of all the United States, according to the federal government. Some 400,000 cars circulate there every day, which is why the Illinois Department of Transportation has wanted to rebuild it for so long.

Indeed, some of you have probably been bothered by the project, which will last until 2022, but one of the reasons to do so is to allow drivers to save 5 million hours of lost time. congestion every year.

In a statement, the Illinois Department of Transportation said it welcomed a "statewide debate on these issues and looked forward to working with all stakeholders to find solutions".
Drivers are divided as to how much money the transportation should be spent and as to whether there should be more.

"I think on the lakefront, in particular, I saw so many cars stalling on the shoulder that you wait until the men come to help them, so I absolutely think that the city should really consider further repairing the roads, "said Carlo Calma. , a driver from Rogers Park.

"For me, time, it's money.It takes so long to get home on the train because they are full.I like to have my car," said Veronica Velez, who goes north for her work at the Chicago Sports Museum in Water. Square of the tower.

And John Samuel, a downtown driver, summed up what many people think of this debate.

"The problem is not the increase in taxes," he said. "It's the efficiency of how the funds are allocated and it's clear they're not allocated properly, so no more taxes, there's enough."

Governor JB Pritzker said he wanted the adoption of an infrastructure bill. President Trump has promised one in the 2016 election. As the debate progresses, think about this: The American Chamber of Commerce, which supports the report, said the cost of inaction is still higher: $ 7 trillion and 2.5 million jobs by 2025.