Scenic Byway seeks community input

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PRINCETON — Area residents are invited to attend a meeting this week on the Illinois River Road National Scenic Byway. The purpose of the meeting is to share interpretive findings and recommendations, as well as hear feedback, for the Interpretive Master Plan for the natural intrinsic qualities of this nationally recognized byway.

In September 2005, the Illinois River Road — Route of the Voyageurs was announced as one of 45 new All-American Roads and National Scenic Byways. The Illinois River Road covers 271 miles between Ottawa and Havana, and includes much of Routes 26 and 29 on each side of the river.

In Bureau County, the byway enters the county on Route 6, just north of St. Bede Academy. It runs through Spring Valley, and once west of the city, switches onto Route 29, moving through the communities of DePue and Bureau.

The designation also includes Princeton. Although Princeton is not directly along the Illinois River, the city was designated as a gateway or spur community, and the scenic route pathway loops through town.

Most recently in December, the Illinois River Road National Scenic Byway was awarded $253,000 by the Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. The $253,000 grant was part of more than $2 million awarded to the Illinois Department of Transportation to fund National Scenic Byway projects across the state. The money will be used for Phase II of its interpretive planning process, which includes marketing and construction of community and site kiosks, in addition to continued marketing and project management of the corridor.

This week’s meetings are held in the seven gateway communities of Ottawa, Princeton, Peoria, East Peoria, Pekin, Canton and Havana. Each meeting will include a presentation of the interpretive recommendations for the gateway communities and affiliated nature waypoint sites throughout the byway region. Options for sharing each community’s individual stories with visitors will be discussed.

The Princeton Gateway Community presentation will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Princeton Public Library, located at 698 E. Peru St., Princeton.

There will be an Ottawa Gateway Community presentation from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Ottawa City Hall.

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