Sen. Dale Fowler. | Facebook
Sen. Dale Fowler. | Facebook
State Sen. Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg) is celebrating a new capital investment plan headed to the southern Illinois region that includes $11.2 million for the Shawneetown Regional Port District.
“This is a massive public/private partnership I have been advocating and negotiating for, for quite some time,” Fowler said in a press release. “It’s exciting for our region as we continue to capitalize on opportunities that lie within our two mighty rivers.”
The multi-million dollar project is being billed as one that will bring numerous high-paying jobs for the economically depressed area, including 250-300 construction jobs, 12-15 cargo service and barge jobs and 20-25 new trucking jobs to move products to and from the river.
“By investing in this project, we will be able to leverage two different sources of transportation methods, including Highway 13 and the Ohio River in Old Shawneetown, that will provide greater access to markets for our agriculture community,” Fowler said. “This will provide great benefits for both producers and consumers over time, as barge transportation is both economically and environmentally friendly.”
In addition to the funds being steered to Shawneetown, round two of the state’s broadband improvement grants were released earlier this month for three projects in southern Illinois. WKT Telecom Cooperative ($5,000,000), Protek Communications ($2,000,000) and Clearwave ($500,000) are all slated to receive grants.
“This additional $7.5 million in broadband funding infrastructure will help connect our rural communities to the rest of the world and make it easier for people and businesses to invest in southern Illinois,” Fowler said.
The Shawneetown Regional Port District Board is comprised of seven members, with four of them appointed by the governor, and one each by the Mayor of Shawneetown, Mayor of Equality and Mayor of New Haven.
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