It Takes Time...Highway Construction from Start to Finish

              ItTakesTime…
HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION
From Start to Finish
Planning and Building
Or Rehabilitating Highways
Each year, the Illinois Department of Transportation
(IDOT) develops a multi-year highway program
which the governor presents to the General
Assembly for approval. The program specifies
improvements IDOT intends to make on the state
highway system over a six-year period. The com-plexity
and funding of individual improvements
will determine the amount of time a project remains
“in the stream” from conceptualization to the
beginning of construction.
The funded highway project process can involve
as many as 55 steps and take many years to finish.
A major construction project involving a new high-way,
for instance, can take from five to 20 years to
complete all the steps. (See example at right.)
Rehabilitating a highway may take up to five years,
or more. Completion of a project is dependent
upon reviews by various federal, state and local
governmental agencies, as well as public and private
organizations, with which IDOT cooperates to
complete various work phases.
The example on the other side of this brochure
illustrates the process for completing a major high-way
rehabilitation project. Engineering work is
produced by IDOT engineers or outside consultants.
Actual construction is carried out by private
construction companies, with oversight by
IDOT engineers or consultants.
The publication of the highway program provides
the public and media with the opportunity to review
and respond to the listed projects. Illinois citizens
can express their opinion about construction
projects at public hearings or by submitting com-ments
at other times to state officials. All public
comments are taken into consideration and
balanced with the need to improve safety, reduce
congestion, support economic development and
minimize adverse social, environmental and
economic impacts.
Contacting IDOT District Offices
For information on specific highway construction projects, call the
IDOT district where a project is located:
Facts and Figures
Illinois’ 139,000-mile network of state and local roads is the third
largest in the nation. The state also has the third largest interstate highway
system, including three of the nation’s five transcontinental routes that
carry the most commercial vehicles.
IDOT is responsible for more than 16,000 miles of roads. The state also
has 26,000 bridges, and IDOT is responsible for nearly 8,000 of them.
Although IDOT is responsible for 12.5 percent of the total highways
and 30 percent of the bridges, those roads and bridges carry two-thirds
of the state’s traffic.
* This is typical of new highway construction from the start of engineering to the completion of work.
However, before engineering can even begin, new projects have to be proposed and a feasibility study completed.
That pre-engineering process can take from two to five years – or even more if funding is unavailable.
MAJOR PHASES
ENGINEERING PHASE 1
incl. Environmental Impact Statement
ENGINEERING PHASE 2
includes plan preparation
LAND ACQUISITION
UTILITY RELOCATIONS
ENVIRONMENTAL MITIGATION
archaeology, natural resources,
hazardous waste
BRIDGE WORK
GRADING AND PAVING
LIGHTING AND SIGNING
YEAR 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
A FOUR-LANE HIGHWAY: NEW CONSTRUCTION EXAMPLE
From Funding to Completion*
* Simplified time frame. Actual completion time varies from project to project.
MAJOR PHASES
PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE
REPAIR, REPAVE, RECONSTRUCT
(no bridges)
REPAIR, REPAVE, RECONSTRUCT
(with bridges)
NEW CONSTRUCTION
YEARS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
TIME TO REHABILITATE OR BUILD AN ILLINOIS HIGHWAY
From Funding to Completion*
+
Illinois’139,000-mile network
of state and local roads is the
third largest in the nation.
LAKE
COOK
DUPAGE
KANE
WINNEBAGO MCHENRY
BO E ON
JO DAVIESS STEPHENSON
CARROLL OGLE
DEKALB
KENDALL WILL
LEE
WHITESIDE
HENRY BUREAU LASALLE
GRUNDY
KANKAKEE
IROQUOIS
LIVINGSTON
PUTNAM
MARSHALL
STARK
PEORIA
KNOX
MERCER
WARREN
HENDERSON
HANCOCK MCDONOUGH
FULTON
MASON TAZEWELL
MCLEAN
FORD
CHAMPAIGN
VERMILION
DEWITT
LOGAN
MENARD
SCHUYLER
ADAMS
BROWN
PIKE
CASS
MORGAN
SANGAMON
MACON
PIATT DOUGLAS EDGAR
CLARK
COLES
MOULTRIE
SHELBY
MACOUPIN
SCOTT
GREENE
CALHOUN
JERSEY
CHRISTIAN
MONTGOMERY
FAYETTE
EFFINGHAM
CUMBERLAND
JASPER
CRAWFORD
RICHLAND LAWRENCE
CLAY
MARION
BOND
CLINTON
MADISON
ST. CLAIR
MONROE
WASHINGTON
JEFFERSON
WAYNE
EDWARDS
WABASH
WHITE
HAMILTON
SALINE
FRANKLIN
PERRY
JACKSON
RANDOLPH
WILLIAMSON
GALLATIN
JOHNSON POPE HARDIN
PULASKI MASSAC
ALEXANDER
UNION
ROCK ISLAND
WOODFORD
D6
D9
D8
D7
D5
D4 D3
D2
D1
Region 1
Diane M. O’Keefe
Region 2
Eric S. Therkildsen (Acting)
Region 3
Joseph E. Crowe
Region 4
Roger L. Driskell
Region 5
Omer Osman (Acting)
DISTRICT 1
201 WEST CENTER COURT
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS 60196-1096
PHONE: 847/705-4000
DISTRICT 2
819 DEPOT AVENUE
DIXON, ILLINOIS 61021-3546
PHONE: 815/284-2271
DISTRICT 3
700 EAST NORRIS DRIVE
OTTAWA, ILLINOIS 61350-1628
PHONE: 815/434-6131
DISTRICT 4
401 MAIN STREET
PEORIA, ILLINOIS 61602-1111
PHONE: 309/671-3333
DISTRICT 5
13473 IL Hwy. 133
P. O. BOX 610
PARIS, ILLINOIS 61944-0610
PHONE: 217/465-4181
DISTRICT 6
126 EAST ASH STREET
SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS 62704-4792
PHONE: 217/782-7301
DISTRICT 7
400 WEST WABASH
EFFINGHAM, ILLINOIS 62401-2699
PHONE: 217/342-3951
DISTRICT 8
1102 EASTPORT PLAZA DRIVE
COLLINSVILLE, ILLINOIS 62234-6198
PHONE: 618/346-3100
DISTRICT 9
STATE TRANSPORTATION BUILDING
P. O. BOX 100
CARBONDALE, ILLINOIS 62903-0100
PHONE: 618/549-2171
Dixon
Schaumburg
Ottawa
Peoria
Springfield
Paris
Collinsville
Effingham
Carbondale
J
www.dot.state.il.us
State of Illinois
Illinois Department of Transportation
Printed by authority of the State of Illinois, 0049-12, 08/11, 5000