Or write to:
Illinois Department
of Transportation
2300 S. Dirksen
Pkwy.
Springfield, IL 62764
(217) 782-7820
Features
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: MaryAnn Taylor Crate
July 14, 2003
OFFICE: (314) 242-2262
IDOT to Host Series of Public Information Meetings
on the
New Mississippi River Bridge Project
COLLINSVILLE, ILLINOIS (July 14, 2003) -- The Illinois Department
of Transportation (IDOT) will host a series of public informational
meetings to present the current status of the various transportation
improvements that will be implemented in Illinois and Missouri as
part of the New Mississippi River Bridge (MRB) Project. These meetings
will be held from 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. in an open house format at the
following locations in Brooklyn, East St. Louis and Venice, Illinois:
Tuesday, July 22 - City of East St. Louis, Mount Sinai Baptist
Church 1200 St. Louis Avenue
Wednesday, July 23 - Village of Brooklyn, Brooklyn/Lovejoy School,
800 Madison Street
Thursday, July 24 - City of Venice, Venice Park District, 305 South
Broadway
Exhibits and aerial photographs will be presented to address the following
topics:
The MRB Project- - what it is and why it's needed
The Bridge - the selected design, how it was determined
and its location
Funding Initiative - what it is and how you can assist
Improvements to the Tri-Level Interchange - current information
about the design, property impacts and traffic management plans
Relocated Illinois Route 3 - what are the design details
and property impacts and when can one expect construction activities
to begin
Urban Design - what are the conceptual plans for aesthetic
and landscaping enhancements to the various Illinois roadway improvements,
as well as the selected community icon designs
New Mississippi River Bridge IL Area Project Public Meetings
The New Mississippi River Bridge Project is a combination of regional
transportation initiatives implemented in communities and neighborhoods
throughout Illinois and Missouri. The improvements include a new,
eight-lane bridge connecting Illinois and Missouri just north of
downtown St. Louis, and other roadway improvements including the
relocation of I-70 and Illinois Route 3. Both the Illinois and Missouri
departments of transportation are sponsoring this project.
Two years ago, IDOT formed two Community Involvement Groups (CIGs)
to help ensure that information about the MRB Project is shared
with the community. These groups were also established to assist
the project design team in developing strategies to address remaining
project issues like how to integrate aesthetic and landscape features
into the vast array of transportation improvements to take place
in Illinois and how best to maintain traffic during construction.
This series of July meetings will provide Metro-East residents an
opportunity to review the conceptual plans for aesthetics and landscaping
enhancements and the staging and sequencing of construction activities
along the various highway alignments and interchanges that comprise
the MRB project.
More information is available by calling the project's toll-free
hotline at: 1-866-9BRIDGE (1-866-927-4343), by reviewing the project
web site at: www.newriverbridge.org
or by sending electronic mail to: newriverbridge@hntb.com.
