PEORIA — An extension of the Rock Island Greenway, one that would make it easier to access the Peoria riverfront, is on the radar of city officials.
The city of Peoria will be submitting an application to secure $1 million in federal grant dollars to rebuild a portion of Abington Street in the North Valley in an effort to extend the Rock Island Greenway, ultimately making it easier for the trail to connect to the riverfront.
At its meeting on May 26 the Peoria City Council unanimously approved a resolution giving city staff the go ahead to apply for a $1 million federal grant through the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission. If the grant money is secured, the project would also require a minimum $430,000 local match in funds.
The project would rebuild Abington Street, extending the Rock Island Greenway, from about Madison Avenue down to Adams Street.
“What’s really driving this right now is that there is a grant out there right now that we’re going to use for this and Abington is a key part of the Rock Island extension,” 3rd District City Councilman Tim Riggenbach said.
This extension would help connect the Rock Island trail from Park Avenue to Adams Street and eventually the riverfront.
There is no “plan B” right now if the grant money is not secured to do this work, Riggenbach said.
“This is definitely plan A, so if the funding doesn’t come through, we’ll be scrambling to come up with a plan B, which we don’t have at this point,” Riggenbach said.
Peoria City Manager Patrick Urich said the city is trying to leverage state and federal dollars where it makes sense in order to stretch dollars where they can, and Abington is certainly a street in need of repair.
“We think it makes a compelling case and we’re hoping we will be successful in getting the funding,” Urich said.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: How a Peoria road project could pave the way for popular trail extension
Reporting by JJ Bullock, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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