CHICAGO - Entering Year Four of Rebuild Illinois, the Illinois Department of Transportation announced today that multiple improvement projects in central Cook County are underway or planned to begin, highlighting an ongoing commitment made possible by Gov. JB Pritzker's historic, bipartisan capital program. Four major projects represent a total investment of more than $27.9 million for the region, improving safety and mobility while sustaining and creating good-paying jobs throughout the region.

"With the Rebuild Illinois capital plan, we are restoring and transforming Illinois' aging infrastructure," said Gov. Pritzker. "Rebuild Illinois is not only about investing in infrastructure but about investing in people and communities as well. In the coming months, IDOT will undertake projects that will ultimately create safer roads and bridges and provide jobs in central Cook County and across the entire state."

Projects and traffic impacts include:

• Oak Park Avenue from Roosevelt Road to 31st Street includes resurfacing and installing new ADA-compliant sidewalk ramps. Daytime lane closures are needed to complete construction. The project began last fall and is anticipated to be completed this summer.

• Ogden Avenue (U.S. 34) from Harlem Avenue (Illinois 43) to 50th Court includes resurfacing and installing new ADA-compliant sidewalk ramps. Daytime lane closures are needed to complete construction. The project began this spring and is anticipated to be completed late fall.

• LaGrange Road (U.S. 12/20/45) over Santa Fe Drive, Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal, Illinois & Michigan Canal and Canadian National Railroad includes bridge repair, deck replacement and lighting. Two southbound lanes and one northbound lane will remain open throughout construction The project began this spring and is anticipated to be complete in fall 2023.

• LaGrange Road (U.S. 12/20/45) from Cermak Road to 31st Street includes resurfacing and installing new ADA-compliant sidewalk ramps. Daytime lane closures are needed to complete construction. The project began this spring and is anticipated to be completed late fall.

• Willow Springs Road from north of 55th Street to Archer Avenue (Illinois 171) includes resurfacing and building new shoulders as well as installing rumble strips and ADA-compliant sidewalk ramps. Daytime lane closures are needed to complete construction. The project is scheduled to begin next spring and estimated to be completed next fall.

"These projects represent another year that IDOT will be making transformational investments in central Cook County and all across the state," said Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman. "Please, pardon our dust while we Rebuild Illinois. When approaching and driving through any work zone, expect the unexpected and give workers a brake. Stay patient, put down the devices and slow down."

Passed in 2019, Rebuild Illinois is investing $33.2 billion into the state's aging transportation system, creating jobs and promoting economic growth. Rebuild Illinois is not only the largest capital program in state history but also the first one that touches all modes of Illinois transportation: roads and bridges, transit, waterways, freight and passenger rail, aviation, and bicycle and pedestrian accommodations.

In addition to improving roads and bridges, Rebuild Illinois identifies in the Chicago area $400 million for the CREATE program, $500 million to establish passenger rail to the Quad Cities and Rockford, and $4 billion for the Regional Transportation Authority, which oversees the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace.