A $12 million funding request for a reconstruction of Cameron Lane is among Peoria County's legislative asks this year.
The money would be used to expand and pave the shoulders of the roadway and improve the road surface from Route 116 near the Peoria County Jail to U.S. 24 near Mapleton.
The changes are intended to make the busy roadway safer. County administrator Scott Sorrel said Cameron Lane sees a lot of both residential and semi tractor-trailer traffic, but the work is not something the county can take on alone.
"That's a project that we would really like to see funded, or at least partially funded from the state, because absent some of those state dollars coming in, we don't generate enough motor fuel tax on an annual basis to be able to look at doing a project of that size and scope," Sorrel said.
It's not the only big project in the vicinity. Just down the road from Cameron Lane's southern end, the Illinois Department of Transportation has a $135 million plan to expand U.S. 24 to four lanes from Kingston Mines to Banner. Initial engineering for that project is slated to begin sometime this year.
