Sangamon Sun

All state transportation work will be at risk if legislators do not pass a budget in the next few weeks, according to the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association’s (IRTBA) latest weekly newsletter.

Without a budget, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) will not have the authority to pay contractors, according to the newsletter, meaning a stop to all IDOT-funded construction work throughout the state. It also will block projects related to engineering and any other IDOT or local agency spending.

The IRTBA said the industries it represents are dedicated to promoting increased funding for the state’s transportation system, but at the moment it is unclear whether there will be any state funding at all. The group is pushing for a resolution to the state’s budget impasse so that its member businesses can continue their work to improve state infrastructure.

Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Randall S. Blankenhorn | http://www.idot.illinois.gov/about-idot/our-story/governance/secretary-of-transportation/index

The Illinois General Assembly failed to put forward a budget agreement by the end of the spring legislative session for the third year in a row, throwing funding for IDOT and other state agencies into doubt. Lawmakers are working to come to an agreement in an ongoing continuous session but must do so before the end of the current fiscal year, on June 30.