STATE PLANS $1.2 BILLION IN ROAD WORK

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- State transportation officials announced a $1.2 billion program Wednesday that would repair hundreds of miles of Illinois roads over the next year.

Despite a slight increase in money available for this year's projects, officials warned that federal cuts could shrink the program by as much as $200 million next year.

The department plans work on 893 miles of road and 206 bridges beginning this summer. More than 96 percent of proposed projects would repair existing highways and bridges.

The plans are part of a $4.8 billion program aimed at fixing 4,536 miles of roadway and 898 bridges within the next five years.

"The top priority is keeping the existing system in shape," said Linda Wheeler, planning and policy director for the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Repairs to 14.3 miles of Chicago's Stevenson Expressway top the list of projects scheduled to begin this summer, Wheeler said. Other major projects include the reconstruction of Interstate 80 in Cook and Will counties, construction of a U.S. 67 bypass around Roseville in west central Illinois and continued work on a four-lane corridor between Quincy and Macomb.

The state's five-year Highway Improvement Program calls for an overall $70,000 increase in construction projects, Wheeler said.

Gov. Jim Edgar said the highway program will bring more than 28,000 jobs to Illinois next year, but he warned communities to expect a future decrease in available road funds.

"After the 1997 program, local governments should prepare for some reductions in these programs due to a significant decline in the state highway program beyond fiscal 1997," Edgar said in a press release.

Martha Schiebel, an IDOT spokeswoman, said federal cuts and stagnant motor fuel tax revenues will make it difficult to keep up with the demand for construction projects.