In Support of the Southwest Illinois Connector

Floor Speech

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Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of a project that has been decades in the making: the Southwest Illinois Connector.

This proposed expansion of Illinois State Highways 127, 154, and 3 to four lanes would create a rural expressway between St. Louis, Missouri, and Carbondale, Illinois.

The latest push for the Southwest Illinois Connector began in 2017 when officials in my district from Jackson, Perry, Randolph, and Monroe Counties formed the Four County Highway Coalition.

In 2019, this group partnered with the Illinois Department of Transportation to do a report and the project that would indicate exactly what this would affect. What they discovered was that it would create thousands of construction jobs. It would reduce auto accidents. It would boost economic development. It would benefit national security, and it would improve public health.

Now, I can't overstate how much of a difference this would make. The planned route of the Southwest Illinois Connector includes a stretch that is currently in the top 5 percent for traffic fatalities and injuries on two-lane highways. The Southwest Illinois Connector would also have an important impact on helping grow the economy and spur new investments in the region. It would also prove timely in the delivery of aid and assistance following a natural disaster and help address patient transport issues from rural areas for their healthcare needs.

In closing, I thank Murphysboro Mayor Will Stephens and Marc Kiehna, the Randolph County board chair, for their leadership in building a coalition of support for this long-sought-after project. This project would be the difference maker for southern Illinois.

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