Illinois Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin along with 17th District Congresswoman Cheri Bustos announced today that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have allocated $829.1 million in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act towards major projects on the Upper Mississippi River in Pike and Calhoun counties.
The Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program will use the funding to complete the modernization of Lock & Dam 25 in western Pike County, which includes the construction of a new 1,200 foot lock. The funding also includes an allocation for n environmental restoration project at Lock & Dam 22 and other small-scale ecosystem and navigation projects in southern Calhoun County.
The Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program has been waiting on the funding since its authorization in 2007. The entire program is expected to create 50 million man hours of living wage construction jobs, and could potentially inject $72 billion into the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.
The Upper Mississippi River System transports more than 60% of America’s corn and soybeans, is home to 25% of North America’s fish species, and is a globally important flyway for 40% of North America’s migratory waterfowl and shorebirds.
According to the press release, Durbin secured $45.1 million in the Fiscal Year 2022 energy & water appropriations bill for restoration projects at Lock & Dam 25.