An Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program Grant could pay for building a pedestrian bridge over IL 251 in Peru. The city is applying for the grant which is due on September 30th. City Engineer Eric Carls says it would be located just north of the Hy-Vee grocery store and Liberty Village of Peru. It would also connect a shared use path the city is building.
He says the bridge would allow better access for people to walk to different parts of the city like Veterans Park, Baker Lake, and other residential neighborhoods.
Jim Clinard with Chamlin and Associates says the project is expected to cost about $3.7 million dollars. The grant is suppose to cover most of the cost. He says the bridge is needed because the closest bridge to cross to the other side of IL 251 is nine tenths of a mile away. Clinard says it’s might look similar to the bridge that crosses over Interstate 80 on IL 23 in Ottawa. But the bridge they would help build would have lights so it could be used day or night.