[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 79 (Wednesday, May 10, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H2177-H2178]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             IN SUPPORT OF THE SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS CONNECTOR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Bost) for 5 minutes.
  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

[[Page H2178]]

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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