SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — After an exceptionally harsh winter that damaged roads and bridges across the state, the Illinois House advanced a plan to fund $1 billion in new transportation projects that could begin as early as this summer.

The chamber’s approval of Chicago Democratic Rep. Luis Arroyo’s bill by a 97-11 vote came Thursday as lawmakers finished one of their final days of the spring legislative session and worked to finalize a 2015 budget.