IDOT warns of work stoppage
Like it did last year, the Illinois Department of Transportation is again sounding warning bells about the effects of the state's ongoing budget crisis.
IDOT released a statement on June 14 that stated the agency would lose its ability to pay contractors starting July 1 unless the situation is resolved, placing the blame on the General Assembly's "refusal to pass a balanced budget."
"While we are hopeful the situation is resolved before then, the department is notifying contractors that all construction work is to shut down on June 30," IDOT said in the statement. "Contractors will be advised to secure work zones to ensure their safety during any potential shutdown.
"As always, the safety of the traveling public will be the top priority as the department works through this process."
IDOT was in the same situation last year, but the passage of the "stopgap" budget prevented a work stoppage. The day after IDOT released its statement, Gov. Bruce Rauner released one of his own that called lawmakers back to Springfield for a 10-day special session starting Wednesday and lasting until June 30, the end of the state's fiscal year.
Should a budget deal be reached before then, Rauner said he would cancel any remaining special session days.
"We have tough, urgent choices to make, and the legislature must be present to make them," Rauner said in the statement. "In the days ahead, let's show the people of Illinois we have their best interests in mind, not our own.
"And together, we will move our state forward to a better and brighter future."
A work stoppage could have a devastating effect on the state, especially locally. In Steeleville, the milling and resurfacing phase of the roughly $1.8 million road project on State Route 4/West Broadway Street from Locust Street to a tenth of a mile east of the Steeleville tee is scheduled to start after July 4.
Contractor E.T. Simonds Construction Company, of Carbondale, has already completed the patching part of the project and it was previously agreed that E.T. Simonds would wait until after the village's annual 4th of July celebration to start tearing up pavement.
Repair work is scheduled for the Union Pacific Railroad's crossing on Steeleville's west end on Tuesday and Wednesday, a necessary element of the resurfacing project.
"Obviously, we don't know what the state's going to do and obviously, we wouldn't get our road finished," said Steeleville Mayor Bob Sutton. "They need to get a budget.
"We need both sides of the aisle to work together to get the state moving forward."
In Chester, Mayor Tom Page is waiting on IDOT to patch sections of State and Opdyke streets, with significant holes developing near the Gwin Apartments, Chester Grade School and the hill by the sewage treatment plant.
"For the past three years, not having a state budget has been incredibly difficult to manage city operations," Page said. "We also have a budget we have to prepare and trying to get our budget right without knowing what the future of the state is is incredibly difficult.
The city also has a six-figure project upcoming for Buena Vista Street, which involves resurfacing and re-routing of utilities.
"That was just bid last week," Page said. "That will be a brand new road and that project is in limbo right now."