The plan for Pekin’s ring road connecting to I-474 is going on three generations. With the support of U.S. Representative Darin LaHood, we aim to turn that plan into roads and opportunity. Rep. LaHood joined our State of the City address where he proclaimed the recent $4 million engineering grant he secured for Pekin is just a down payment on his support for the Veterans Drive extension to the interstate.

Since last year when the City agreed to purchase the Lutticken property, I have heard from many residents, business people, and community leaders that they are glad to see the City finally taking steps forward and thinking for the long term. I do, however, still get asked on occasion why we are buying the property and building the ring road. The short answer is that it is Pekin’s future. Our community has a lot of assets from our beautiful river to the rail lines, from our high-quality aquifer to the caring people that live and do business here. But, one asset we lack is a direct connection to the interstate. Towns like Pekin flourished in the 1800s and early 1900s in great part because of access to transportation networks, mainly river and rail back then. Today, the interstate system provides the easiest access to the regional and national network of commerce. Communities like Peoria, East Peoria, and Morton have that access and benefit greatly from it. Connecting Pekin to that network will create a new segment of the local economy to help grow our community.

So the final question: how do we pay for it? The City spends several million dollars each year on needed road, sidewalk, and sewer improvements, and there’s not much left that will be available for such a large new construction project. This road extension and new interchange, estimated at $60 million, will need state and federal support to make it happen. With partners like Rep. LaHood standing behind Pekin, the future of the ring road is bright. We thank Rep. LaHood, other elected officials, and members of our community for supporting this vision for our community.