DECATUR, Ill. (WAND)- Public officials touted two miles of new road Monday as a tool for economic growth in Decatur and Macon County.
State and local leaders held a ribbon cutting for the first completed segment of the new Route 48 connector, which will link Routes 48, 105, 36 and 51 along Decatur’s east side. When finished, the project will include about 22 miles of roadway, officials said.
“We need to get our product to the market, and roads like this are what speeds things up so the whole intermodal can be as successful as it can,” said State Rep. Sue Scherer. “We are competing with other states that have intermodals, and we want businesses to decide to come right here through Decatur.”
State Sen. Andy Manar said the project is the product of cooperation and credited his colleague State Sen. Chapin Rose for his role in the project.
“Here in Macon County and Decatur, everybody is working together, which I would frankly tell you is not the case in other parts of the state,” Manar said. “If there’s division, that division is underscored, and part of the success here in Decatur and Macon County is everybody is working toward the same goals.”
