Feds appropriate $2,000,000 for road construction at new hospital

[July 26, 2010]  WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $15,050,000 in federal funding for Illinois transportation and economic development projects.

The fiscal 2011 appropriations bill for the Department of Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, and independent agencies includes funding in the amount of $2,000,000 to construct a three-legged intersection on the Interstate 55 Business Loop to provide public access to the new Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital.

This appropriation came as a positive report for Lincoln Mayor Keith Snyder, who stated:

"The city of Lincoln is excited that this important project is a step closer to reality. We greatly appreciate Sen. Durbin's effort to advance this measure through the Senate Appropriations Committee. We hope it continues through to final enactment.

"As this appropriation advances, we'll continue to work with ALMH on the submission of the TIGER II grant application for this project. With the new hospital set to open early next year, we want to take advantage of every opportunity available and cooperate with the hospital in any way we can to get this intersection and ring road funded and constructed as quickly as possible. It will benefit not only the hospital, but further economic development on Lincoln's west side."

Also of interest to Logan County bicycle enthusiasts is an announced program called Illinois Pedestrian and Bicycling Road and Trail Improvements and Enhancements, with a statewide funding of $2,500,000 to the Illinois Department of Transportation for bike and pedestrian trails across the state.

[U.S. Senate; Sen. Dick Durbin; LDN]