Illinois goes in different direction on I-66 study

Illinois highway officials say they want an ongoing feasibility study funded by the Missouri and Kentucky highway departments to look at a possible Interstate 66 route through Southern Illinois that would cross the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau on the new Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge.

The new interest from the Illinois Department of Transportation could boost chances for getting a four-lane highway linking Cape Girardeau with Paducah, Ky., local civic leaders say.

Illinois highway officials previously have shown no interest in the project. Missouri and Kentucky highway officials have been actively studying possible routes for I-66 for about a year without any assistance from IDOT.

But the new governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, has put new administrators in charge of IDOT who favor studying a possible I-66 route.

Even with current planning, highway officials in Missouri and Kentucky say I-66 is still a long way from being built. U.S. Sen. Jim Talent, R-Mo., said during a visit to Jackson on Wednesday that federal funding to build I-66 may not be available unless Congress finds a way to boost transportation funding.

Who's paying

Kentucky, largely through federal money, is funding the bulk of the $570,000 study. Missouri has contributed $50,000 and the Kentucky transportation department is looking at asking the state to provide another $30,000.

Bruce Siria, project manager for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's planning division, said Kentucky highway officials haven't asked Illinois to contribute financially to the study. But he said IDOT needs to hold at least one public meeting in Southern Illinois to gauge public opinion, as well as contribute route information to the study.

David Phelps, assistant secretary with IDOT and a former Southern Illinois congressman, notified Kentucky highway officials in a March 12 letter that the agency he helps supervise wants to study a possible I-66 route that would extend from Metropolis, Ill., -- across the Ohio River from Paducah -- to Cape Girardeau.

A spokesman for the department's top administrator in Springfield confirmed that the letter from Phelps represents the agency's view and not just the opinion of Phelps, who currently is working out of his Southern Illinois home.

Bringing the route to Cape Girardeau would allow the highway to connect with existing Interstate 57 in Illinois and Interstate 55 in Missouri.

The route likely would cross some land in the Shawnee National Forest, but Phelps believes the highway could be built without harming environmentally sensitive areas.

Phelps said any route for I-66 through Southern Illinois should be based on two factors: What is the most direct route and what route would least disturb existing land uses.

Illinois' sudden interest in the project could delay completion of a study by the Kentucky and Missouri transportation departments to determine the best route for the proposed highway, a Kentucky highway official said.

Siria said completion of the study could be delayed by about three months. That would have the study wrap up by September rather than June, he said.

Cape Girardeau civic leaders say Illinois' new interest in the highway project is crucial to getting I-66 to cross the Mississippi River on the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge. The $100 million bridge project is slated to be completed later this year.

John Mehner, Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce president, said it makes economic sense to build a four-lane highway to connect Cape Girardeau and Paducah, two retail and commercial centers in the tri-state region. He said the Illinois route to Cape Girardeau was specified in federal legislation passed by Congress several years ago.

It's been suggested by some I-66 proponents that a Mississippi River bridge should be built south of Wickliffe, Ky., providing a direct connection from Kentucky to Missouri. But Mehner said that requires federal funding that's not available. "They can't get a bridge built," he said.

But Kentucky highway officials and residents haven't given up on the idea. It's one of the alternatives being considered by the Louisville, Ky., firm conducting the study.

"We have heard very little expression of support in Kentucky for the Cape Girardeau alternative," Siria said.

Public meetings were held in western Kentucky and Sikeston, Mo., last year. Another meeting is scheduled for May 6 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Missouri Department of Transportation's Sikeston office to allow public comment and provide information about possible I-66 routes. The meeting will have an open-house format.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123