Rockford’s record-breaking $385M capital plan has projects big and small

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The city’s most-expensive capital plan to date includes finishing off the extensive rebuild of 11th Street, building a new water treatment plant considered key for development and pumping more money into repairing residential streets.

City Council members are set to discuss on Monday a potential $385.3 million five-year capital plan, which covers road and infrastructure work through 2030. The plan had been laid over at a previous City Council meeting.

“There’s lots of big projects as well as much-needed smaller projects,” Mayor Tom McNamara said on This Week in the Stateline.

This marks the fourth consecutive year of record spending in the capital plan, and it’s the seventh consecutive year that the overall cost of the plan has grown.

The plan includes more than $86 million set aside for 2026, topping the roughly $75 million bid out for this past summer’s construction season.

“I think this 2026 summer will probably be the height of that construction and then it will dip down each of the next couple of years as we get re-prepared for another set of funding for our arterials and collectors,” McNamara said. “We are really on a good track to make sure that we’re not having to invest so much to totally reconstruct roads, but we’ll be able to help maintain them and resurface them, which allows us to do far more roads each year.”

The plan has grown each year since a $168.8 million capital plan was approved in 2019. In 2023, the five-year plan hit a new record of $311.1 million, topping the previous high of $279.2 in 2010. The record was topped again in 2024, 2025 and now 2026.

Here’s a look at some of the major projects on the horizon:

11th Street work continues

The first phase of rebuilding 11th Street began this year, and it involves rebuilindg the road from Harrison Avenue to 18th Avenue. That $12.2 million project is expected to restart as soon as weather allows.

The next phase takes the rebuild from 18th Avenue to Charles Street, and is estimated to cost about $12 million including water infrastructure. That phase is planned to go forward next year and wrap up before the end of the year.

The final phase, moving forward in 2027, includes new sidewalks and lighting improvements from the U.S. 20 Bypass to Harrison Avenue, according to Tim Hinkens, city engineer. The final phase is anticipated to cost about $1.5 million.

How much: $26 million

When: 2026-2027

15th Avenue bridge over the Rock River

The 15th Avenue bridge over the Rock River dates back to 1933 and is nearing the end of its useful life. It would need to be closed to traffic within the next five to 10 years if not replaced, according to the city. Preliminary engineering began in 2020 with the expectation that construction would move forward in 2028.

How much: $20 million

When: 2028

Two-way conversions

The city plans to continue progress on engineering and planning for the tear down of the so-called Whitman Street interchange, a series of ramps and bridges near Illinois 251 on the east side of the Rock River. The interchange will be replaced with two-way streets that connect the east and west sides of the city.

The ramps and bridge will be removed and Sixth, Ninth and Longwood streets will all be converted to two-way traffic.

How much: $20 million

When: 2028

Well replacement

The city is preparing to replace the roughly century-old Well No. 45 reservoir near its Water Department headquarters at Cedar and South Avon streets.

The five-million gallon reservoir is the largest in the central water pressure zone and is considered vital to daily water and firefighting demands.

How much: $18 million

When: Fall 2026

Neighborhood roads

The capital plan lays out $45 million for neighborhood roads over five years. The money goes toward repairs for city’s roughly 550 miles of residential streets and its 1,121 alleys.

Which residential streets will be fixed hasn’t been decided yet. The neighborhood road repairs are determined in conjunction with the aldermen of each ward to determine the biggest needs.

The city will have $8 million dedicated toward the program in 2026. That increased by a half-million dollars each year through the end of the capital plan in 2030.

Water treatment plant

The city plans to build a new water treatment plant east of the Chicago Rockford International Airport to replace the previously decommissioned Well No. 24.

The new well will increase the water supply in what’s called the city’s Central Hydraulic Zone, and it’s considered key to allowing future development to move forward around the airport.

Estimated cost: $24 million

When: 2026

Read the plan

Go HERE to see the draft version of the city’s 2026-2030 capital plan.

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas