I-66 NATIONAL MEETING SET WEDNESDAY IN ST. LOUIS

About 50 people from at least eight states are expected to gather at the St. Louis Airport Drury Inn Wednesday for the second national meeting to discuss a proposed Interstate 66.

"We have had a lot of calls, even from cities who cannot attend the meeting, and feel like this will be a good event," said Walt Wildman, executive director of the Cape Girardeau RCGA and co-director of I-66 Project, Inc.

"We are putting the final touches on our proposed budget and the structure of a steering committee," explained Wildman.

He will present to the group Monday a plan to have an 11 member steering committee, representing all regions of the country along the proposed route.

The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. and should end around 3:00, Wildman said.

"We have a lot to do between now and March or April when we will appear before Congress for additional funding," said Wildman. "We have a short time frame to work in and see this meeting as an opportunity to get things rolling."

The first national meeting of I-66, which is a planned east-west interstate highway running coast-to-coast, was held in April of 1989. At that time, members of the RCGA unveiled the proposal.

A preliminary feasibility study, funded by Congress, is currently underway.