RAMP WORK

GRAFTON, Ill. - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced it will give the state of Illinois about $550,000 for improvements to a boat access ramp on the Mississippi River near St. Louis.

The Illinois Department of Conservation wants to expand and improve the Piasa Creek Boat Access facility, located on the lower portion of the Mississippi River between Alton and Grafton in Jersey County.

The federal approval qualifies the DOC to receive $552,923 from the Sport Fish Restoration fund. The rest of the cost of the $737,231 project will be funded through state boat registration and title fees, said Fred Tetreault, a spokesman for the Conservation Department.

Tetreault said the design of the project is 95 percent complete. Work is not expected to begin until next spring.

"We're talking about six months to get the work done if all goes well. But if they get flooded, it could add another month or so," Tetreault said.