Public meeting set for 66 corridor study

The Illinois Department of Transportation is encouraging residents of Southern Illinois, Western Kentucky and Southeast Missouri to attend a meeting and speak out as part of a formal study of the best corridor for a new highway connecting Cape Girardeau and Paducah, Ky.

The study -- which began in April and will take approximately 4 years to complete -- focuses on a proposed route for the highway, called the 66 corridor, that would connect Interstate 55 near Cape Girardeau to Interstate 24 in the Paducah, Kentucky/Metropolis, Ill., region. It would cut travel time between the cities from an hour and a half to about 45 minutes.

According to Carrie Nelson, program development engineer with IDOT, this is not the first study that's been done on the possible location of the new highway.

"Kentucky has also done a study and they found a couple of corridors with merit, one being a Southern Illinois route," she said. "We're just starting our study on the project and we're kicking it off with this public meeting to comment on what people want to see."

The meeting, scheduled for 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Shawnee Community College gymnasium in Ullin, Ill., will help determine the purpose and need for the project, Nelson said. Part of the process of conducting the study is engaging the public and soliciting input for transportation needs and travel concerns in the area. This data, in addition to other environmental evaluations, must all be compiled "before lines can be put to paper," she said.

The 66 corridor is part of the East-West Transamerica Corridor, a "congressionally designated high priority highway" first studied in the 1980s that would span the country from Virginia to California.

Jeff Glenn of Glennview Strategies is a consultant for the Transamerica Corridor Corporation, which promotes transportation and infrastructure in the region. He said it was important to have a strong local presence at the Illinois meeting.

"We want to show regional support there for the project because it absolutely does benefit the region," said Glenn. "But these benefits don't apply just to Cape. Southern Illinois, Western Kentucky and all of Southeast Missouri will benefit."

Glenn said Cape Girardeau and Paducah would gain from the construction of the corridor because the shorter distance would encourage more travel to the cities. He also said a new highway would improve the region's transportation system by establishing connections between interstates 55 and 24, and the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

There seems to be a general knowledge of the project in Cape Girardeau, Glenn said, but still he encourages people to attend the meeting and learn more about the study.

"We hope folks realize this project didn't come up overnight," he said. "This has been going on now for 20 or more years and a great number of people have put time and effort into this project."

Glenn also said the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce has made an effort to spread the word about the meeting, distributing fliers and reaching out to those who have shown interest in the past. At the chamber's First Friday Coffee last week, president John Mehner announced it could be willing to take people to the meeting via bus.

Those who wish to submit comments or suggestions about the project may present them in writing at the meeting Wednesday or by using the comment form on the project website 66corridor.org.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

8364 Shawnee College Road, Ullin, IL