(The Center Square) – The Illinois Department of Transportation is moving ahead with a new expressway to connect southern Illinois towns to St. Louis. Critics worry the project will waste money, harm farmland and lead to land grabs through eminent domain.
A $6 million study is underway to plan improvements along Routes 3, 154, and 13/127.
Republican congressional candidate Dillan Vancil criticized the state’s priorities and said taxpayer funds should be spent widening deadly stretches of Highway 34, which locals have pushed to fix for decades.
“We have been asking for funding to expand to four lanes for decades. They finally completed it around the high school here at West Central because there were too many fatalities. It was a major safety concern,” said Vancil. “One phase is funded, but the other, on the west side, is not. This new project feels similar, but I don’t believe in disrupting businesses and taking farm ground just to make a connector to make it a little bit easier.”
Separately, Vancil criticized IDOT’s Illinois Route 3 Connector project, which plans to enhance traffic flow between Routes 3, 203, and Collinsville Road in St. Clair County. Currently in Phase II, the project’s construction is estimated at $80 million.
“I’m trying to figure out two miles for $80 million, even, I mean, it’s just rough. And you have a feasible business there, a family-owned business employs around 100 people,” said Vancil.
A 2023 Belleville News Democrat report said the Illinois Route 3 connector project would require the state to use eminent domain to acquire land from a family-owned trucking company.
Until mid-August, IDOT will solicit feedback from the public on the Southwest Connector.
Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Springfield, supports federal funding for the Southwest Connector to create jobs and boost the economy.
“When Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021, the largest investment in our infrastructure since President Eisenhower created the Interstate Highway System, it was proof that we could get big things done on behalf of the American people,” said Durbin in a 2023 news release. “We have a chance to do it again by moving forward on the Southwest Connector project.”
Vancil doubts its benefits and warns of land seizures, citing concerns from the smaller Illinois Route 3 Connector.
“If a new facility came in that would create 300 or 400 jobs and take up 10 acres of farmland, I can understand the strong community impact. That makes sense,” said Vancil. “I think a lot of landowners would be willing to work with someone on that. But at the end of the day, if they don’t want to, find somewhere else to go.”
The Illinois Route 3 Connector focuses on improving traffic near Collinsville, while the Southwest Connector plans to upgrade 70 miles of rural highways from Waterloo to Murphysboro. Vancil explained officials should prioritize community feedback before deciding on a route.
“I’m sure for this connector project [Illinois Route 3 Connector], there were probably six different routes they could have taken,” said Vancil. “And of course, they just want to go with whatever works best for the engineers that come up with this. But how about we go out and get the responses and the feedback from the community first.”
