Funding for the regional Eastern Bypass project is included in the state’s six-year infrastructure program. $2.5 million is programmed to pay for continued engineering work and corridor studies. Denny Kief is a vice president on the Eastern Bypass Board of Directors. He says the funding is needed to continue efforts to build the Bypass:
“Because a lot of projects get started and they stalled out. We want to keep the momentum going, and this funding mechanism that has been approved for both the current year and the five-year multi-year program, keeps that momentum in the program and the project actually moving ahead,” Kief says.
The proposed Eastern Bypass would connect Interstate 74 with Illinois Route 6 in the north-east-region of Peoria. The funding would pay for studies to narrow down the best corridor for the project. Kief says the funding would also help pay to study a specific route within the final corridor. More than $12.5 billion is included in the state infrastructure program.