Gateway Connector Lacks Funding
By Nicholas J.C. Pistor
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Monday, Oct. 08 2007

The Gateway Connector project is moving slowly, but it's not dead.

So says the Illinois Department of Transportation about the estimated $500
million plan to build a four-lane, 41-mile highway that would connect Troy and
Columbia — in a loop around the eastern edge of the St. Louis metropolitan area.

The project, occasionally called the "outer belt," was announced years ago as a
major highway to ease traffic congestion spawned by future growth. Public
meetings were held, maps were drawn, opinions were voiced.

Today, there is no money for construction — more than two years after residents
and landowners were shown preliminary drawings for the project. The Illinois
Department of Transportation says that's OK.

"We've always said this is a long process," said Candace Sauermann, a project
manager for IDOT. "Gateway Connector is not for the traffic of today."

The Gateway Connector would extend south of the Interstate 55-70 interchange
near Troy, then swing west and eventually connect with Interstate 255 near
Columbia.

"Places like Columbia, Waterloo, Millstadt, Shiloh, Troy are all growing fast,"
Sauermann said. "The highway would be planned for that future growth. We see a
tremendous amount of growth in the outer belt corridor."

Sauermann said IDOT has secured the area — which means it would be ready for
preliminary engineering. Because the project is so large, it would be funded
partly by state and federal money.

"It takes a lot of planning to make that work," Sauermann said.

The project has drawn scorn from some area residents who say the highway would
tear apart local farms and waste taxpayer dollars.

A representative with Stop 158, a grass-roots organization aimed at stopping
the project, says the current lack of funding might be a good sign. The group
adopted the name because the proposed highway would follow Illinois Route 158
for part of the way.

"This could fade away," said Jack Norman, a Stop 158 representative from
Columbia.