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Peru launches $4 million shared-use path project · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Peru launches 4 million shared use path project. Written by Tom
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  Collins. This article is being read by an automated voice, brought to
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  you by Everlett. Want to ride your bike to High V or
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  Peru Mall? Better look both ways before crossing Route two hundred and
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  fifty one. The highway isn't the safest place for a cyclist or
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  pedestrian. That's going to change in 2027. Years ago the City
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  of Peru hatched a pedestrian-friendly way to the Northwest Quadrant and set
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  about trying to fund it. Now the bulk of the money is
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  in hand and The project is underway. City engineer Eric Carls announced
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  earlier this week that workers have broken ground on the shared use
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  path that will link portions of the city currently split by busy
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  roadways. The path will add roughly 1.5 miles of shared use path,
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  linking nearly five miles of walkways and bike trails, including a pedestrian
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  bridge over Route
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  251 I got on board right away because it will connect the
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  east side of our community to The
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  west side, Mayor Ken Kalowski said. It's a big deal and the
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  community response so far has been very positive. Work has begun in
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  earnest. Pillars for the Route 251 Bridge are being constructed and with
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  good autumn weather, workers could make significant headway before breaking for winter.
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  The project won't be substantially completed until 2027, and Carls told Then
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  Peru City Council it's likely the bridge structure will be set in
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  the early summer of 2027. A separate project to construct new roadway
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  linking Plaza Drive and Peoria Street is set to be constructed by
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  twenty twenty eight. Kulowski said the improvements will open up retail opportunities
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  in corridors such as Wenzel Road. Then again, it was an ambitious
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  project out of the gate. Months were needed for grant writing, budgeting,
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  procuring materials, and the city needed most of four years to get
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  to this point. The proposed path will connect Veterans Park, the Mall
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  area, Diamond Senior Apartments on Wenzel Road, Pohar's Crossing Subdivision, Baker Lake,
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  all residential areas on the west and east halves of the city,
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  Liberty Village, Peru Schools, the Library, multiple other city parks and the
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  hospital. Alderman Jim Lucosis observed that the public response was muted, primarily
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  because some time had passed since the project was announced. It's not
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  that people were against it, they just didn't know what It was,
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  Lucosis said, recalling the initial inquiries he and his colleagues fielded. The
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  feedback has been positive, no. They know what the project. They're all
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  for it. Alderman Jason Edgecombe said he personally is excited and the
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  project is generating a citywide buzz. I get a lot of interested
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  residents asking when this will be done, Edgecombe said. It will be
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  a huge safety measure for people walking or biking to get across
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  251. Peru Police Chief Sarah Raymond said she too supports the initiative
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  as a whole, but safety is paramount. A shared use path is
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  more than a recreational amenity, she said. It is a piece of
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  infrastructure that can contribute meaningfully to pedestrian safety and enhance the quality
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  of life of our residents. The city applied for, and received, a
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  three million dollant though the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program. The bid was
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  just over four million dollars, and the remaining one million dollars not
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  covered by the grant has been budgeted. There will neither be a
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  bond issue nor a tax increase. The most costly part of the
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  project is the pedestrian bridge over Route 251. It is similar in
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  design to the bridge over Interstate 80 in Ottawa, though the Peru
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  Bridge will be adorned with pathlights. The bridge will be built just
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  north of High Vee on the west side and north of Liberty
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  Village on the east side. It will include handrails and protective fencing.