$60M in state funds headed for Rockford area. Here is where it's being spent

Jeff Kolkey, Rockford Register Star
·3 min read
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Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker talks about the state's plan to invest $58 million to fix South Alpine Road on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, at Forest City Church during a visit to Rockford.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker talks about the state's plan to invest $58 million to fix South Alpine Road on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, at Forest City Church during a visit to Rockford.

One of Rockford's busiest and most deteriorated arterial roads is slated for a $58 million reconstruction project of South Alpine Road and a $2.6 million grant will train a new crop of airplane mechanics.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said during a visit to Rockford that these are examples of government doing what it is supposed to do, making investments that benefit people and improve lives across the state.

"When the General Assembly and I set out to make historic infrastructure upgrades in Illinois, our vision wasn't limited to simply updating highways, rail and bridges," Pritzker said. "We saw an opportunity to connect jobs and economic development to communities across the state through every mode of transportation."

South Alpine is an unmarked state route that has fallen into severe disrepair. Plans are to reconstruct a 2.5-mile stretch of Alpine from Linden Road to Charles Street. But the massive project is expected to take several years to engineer and plan before it begins, possibly in 2027.

More:Major reconstruction on one of Rockford's worst roads will cause traffic detours

Illinois has agreed to spend $1.5 million to resurface the road to make it drivable until the rest of the project can proceed. It is also putting $5 million into engineering for the project that officials said would accommodate vehicles, mass transit, bicycles and pedestrians.

The project is part of Pritzker's signature Rebuild Illinois program which is investing $33.2 billion into the state’s aging transportation system. Once Alpine is complete, Illinois will transfer ownership and maintenance responsibilities for the road to Rockford.

The 300 block of South Alpine Road is seen on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, in Rockford.
The 300 block of South Alpine Road is seen on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, in Rockford.

State Sen. Steve Stadelman, D-Loves Park, said residents have little patience for excuses when it comes to roads falling into such disrepair.

"Any elected official in local government knows that one of the biggest complaints we get are about the roads," Stadelman said. "You can explain it is a city road or township road or a state road and people don’t care. They don’t want to hear about it. They just want the roads fixed."

Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara said Alpine is the third busiest road in the city, the worst conditioned arterial road in the city and the site of too many fatal traffic crashes. McNamara said it is past time for investment along the corridor that promotes multimodal transportation, safety and economic development.

"You look at Collins Aerospace where there are thousands of employees, you look at the other businesses along Alpine and neighborhoods that can't safely get across Alpine for medications, the grocery store or to just grab a bite to eat," McNamara said. "This really is a huge deal for us."

Airplane mechanics wanted

Mariah Passman of AAR gives a tour of the South hangar in which planes receive maintenance, repairs and overhauls at AAR Wednesday, May 26, 2021, in Rockford.
Mariah Passman of AAR gives a tour of the South hangar in which planes receive maintenance, repairs and overhauls at AAR Wednesday, May 26, 2021, in Rockford.

A $2.6 million grant in conjunction with AAR CORP., Rock Valley College and United Airlines will fund an aviation mechanics workforce development training program at the Chicago Rockford International Airport, Pritzker said.

The grant will help fund 80 apprenticeships to prepare students for a career in aviation mechanics and perhaps a job at AAR's maintenance, repair and overhaul facility at the Rockford airport, said AAR President and CEO John Holmes.

AAR had 85 mechanics in 2019. Since then it has grown to more than 350. Of those, 45 mechanics were trained in Rock Valley College's airframe and powerplant airplane mechanics training program. AAR aims to have about 400 mechanics on its payroll by the end of 2023, Holmes said.

The latest jobs training program is part AAR's expansion in Northern Illinois as it works to provide maintenance for United Airlines.

"This is a very powerful example of what can happen and what can be accomplished when government, not-for-profit education and industry align on a single goal," Holmes said. "That's to create jobs and, in our case, great jobs in aviation."

Jeff Kolkey can be reached at  (815) 987-1374, via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on Twitter @jeffkolkey.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Illinois plans $58 million reconstruction of Alpine in Rockford