Metro East district to get nearly $3 billion from state for road and bridge projects
This article originally was published by St. Louis Public Radio, a BND content partner.
The Metro East and surrounding southwest Illinois counties will receive $3 billion in funding from the state of Illinois for infrastructure projects over the next six years.
The 12 major highway projects, announced Friday morning by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Illinois Department of Transportation officials, include replacing and resurfacing roads and bridges in IDOT’s District 8, running from Calhoun and Greene counties to the north, Marion to the west and Randolph to the south.
Kirk Brown, IDOT’s regional engineer for most of southern Illinois, said the construction and repairs are based on need for their respective communities and are important to maintain.
“They connect our communities,” Brown said. “They connect our people, goods and services.”
The projects are part of IDOT’s six-year to-do list. Funding will funnel from the Rebuild Illinois program, a legislative priority of the governor, that state lawmakers passed in 2019. In total, the state will spend nearly $41 billion on roads, aviation, transit, freight, waterways and passenger rail from 2024 to 2029 under the proposal.
“The plan will allow us to revitalize neighborhoods and connect people where they need to go,” Illinois Sec. of Transportation Omer Osman said. “It is simply an investment in people.”
The legislature set in stone allocations for the 2024 fiscal year. Funding for projects in future years will also need to be addressed by the General Assembly.
In the Metro East, Illinois Route 3 in St. Clair County will get the most funding at $305.5 million, according to IDOT plans. The project includes grading and paving the 4-mile stretch from Monsanto Ave. in Sauget to River Park Drive in East St. Louis.
A 2.7-mile stretch of I-55 and I-64 in East St. Louis will receive $288.3 million for the Poplar Street Bridge and road repairs from the Mississippi River to the I-64 interchange.
The 12 major highway projects for IDOT’s District 8 in southwest Illinois include road and bridge repairs across the 11-county region.
“That area has received a lot of complaints and it’s not lost on us,” Brown said. “We know that that area needs quite a bit of work.”
The third priciest project will be $245 million to replace the Joe Page Bridge in Hardin, Illinois, which stretches across the Illinois River about 60 miles north of St. Louis.
In both Monroe and St. Clair counties, a nearly 21-mile portion of I-255 will undergo $188.3 million in bridge repairs and replacement. The project starts near Columbia, Illinois, city limits and extends all the way north to Cahokia Heights.
I-64 in Washington County will get $112 million for resurfacing and bridge repairs over a 20-mile section about 5 miles east of Okawville, Illinois, to the Jefferson County line.
There are seven other major highway projects planned over the next six years. A full list of projects can be found online at bit.ly/Ilprojects .
Will Bauer is the metro-east reporter at St. Louis Public Radio.
