By AP/KWMU
Collinsville, IL – Lawmakers and civic leaders in Southern Illinois say plans for an eight-lane interstate bridge over the Mississippi River at St. Louis are in trouble.
At a meeting yesterday, State Representative and chairman of the House Transportation Committee Jay Hoffman said the plan is on life support.
Also at the meeting, lawmakers discussed ways to salvage federal funding for the original, $910 million bridge plan.
The Illinois Department of Transportation presented an alternative plan to the original project. The new plan calls for a coupler span to be built parallel to the Martin Luther King Bridge.
The meeting was sponsored by the Leadership Council of Southwestern Illinois and was held at the Illinois Department of Transportation district office.