CHICAGO (AP) — Seven locks and dams on the Mississippi and Illinois rivers are under consideration by President Donald Trump’s administration in his stated push to make the nation’s infrastructure “second to none.”
The only lock and dam in the Quad Cities region that would benefit would be the one near Quincy, Illinois.
The Chicago Tribune reports that representatives from Illinois and four other Midwest states are working to make sure the river projects, as well as the ecological restoration efforts tied to them, become a priority.
The Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program was approved by Congress in 2007 but has been shelved due to lack of funding.
The proposal targets five Mississippi River locks on the western edge of Illinois, from near Quincy to northwest of Alton, and two on the Illinois River — one near Peoria and the other near Beardstown. A decade ago, the project had a $4.2 billion price tag.
