CHICAGO –Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) Commissioner Gia Biagi today joined 21^st Ward Alderman Howard B. Brookins Jr., who is also Chairman of the City Council Committee on Transportation and Public Way, and 6^th Ward Alderman Roderick Sawyer at a ribbon cutting for a project that resurfaced State Street from 79^th Street to 98^th Street. The project was funded through Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot’s Chicago Works Capital Plan. CDOT expects to complete 60 miles of arterial resurfacing projects on key routes throughout the City in 2021. 

“The State Street resurfacing project is a great example of how Mayor Lightfoot’s Chicago Works Capital Plan has provided CDOT with resources to make major infrastructure investments in neighborhoods throughout Chicago,” Commissioner Biagi said. “We are working across the City with partners like Alderman Brookins to prioritize projects that emphasize equity, safety and mobility and lower the economic and environmental burden of transportation for all of our residents.” 

The State Street Project installed a smooth new surface for a two-mile stretch alongside the Dan Ryan Expressway. The project also included targeted safety improvement such as pedestrian bumpouts that were installed at the site of the ribbon cutting at 86^th and State Street in Chatham. 

“We are very pleased to celebrate the completion of this project that is already making a real difference in quality of life for residents of the 21^st Ward and the surrounding community,” said Alderman Brookins. 

“Thanks to the Mayor’s Chicago Works Capital Plan, we are able to increase in our investments in critical infrastructure and we are also creating jobs and a brighter future everyone who lives in Chicago.” 

“My constituents are delighted to see these types of major investments in our community that improve the transportation system and make it safer for everyone to get around,” said Alderman Sawyer. “We thank the team at CDOT and Mayor Lightfoot for their commitment to improving quality of life in our neighborhoods and laying the foundation for economic growth.” 

The Mayor’s five-year Chicago Works Capital Plan was approved by the City Council last November and will provide an additional $3.7 billion to improve quality of life for all Chicago residents by investing in sustainable transportation infrastructure and City facilities in all 77 communities. The plan relies on data and an equity lens to guide investments that are expected to put thousands of Chicagoans back to work helping the City recover from the Covid-19 Pandemic and addressing a decades-long backlog of infrastructure needs.  

2021 ARTERIAL RESURFACING