SHILOH, Ill. — St. Clair County leaders are moving forward with another expansion of Frank Scott Parkway.
When Eddie Lofton was a kid Frank Scott Parkway was two lanes running through the middle of farm fields.
“It was pretty much just a straight road to get from Belleville to O’Fallon,” Eddie Lofton said.
These days the road has a much different look.
“Most of this that you see has been built up,” Lofton said. “They’re still building up.”
According to St. Clair County Highway Engineer Norm Etling, Frank Scott Parkway is once again expanding east.
“There are pieces of Frank Scott Parkway that are not five lanes between Green Mount Rd. and Cross St.,” Norm Etling said. “We’re going to widen those.”
Currently, Frank Scott Parkway East ends at the intersection of Cross St. in Shiloh, Illinois, in the shadow of Memorial Hospital.
Thanks to a multi-million dollar expansion Frank Scott Parkway will add two lanes between Cross St. and Air Mobility Dr., connecting the community to Scott Air Force Base.
"It feeds into supporting the mission of the base because the base doesn't have a hospital anymore,” Etling said. “It will be the fastest way for people to get from the base to either hospital. Memorial will be right there at Cross St., or St. Elizabeth's, which is right there on Green Mount Rd."
Etling says the expansion will help alleviate traffic congestion as the area continues to expand.
“Nobody likes to be stuck in traffic,” Lofton said.
Construction on Frank Scott Parkway East is expected to start in 2025 and take at least two years to complete.
“Please give us some good weather,” Etling said.
The expansion of Frank Scott Parkway was made possible in part thanks to $4 million in funding set aside by Congressman Mike Bost.
Etling says St. Clair County must still cover 20% of the project's total cost.