BELLEVILLE – Belleville officials are moving forward with $2.5 million worth of street maintenance over the next fiscal year, while tabling a joint funding agreement with IDOT to construct a roundabout amid maintenance concerns.
Belleville City Council members unanimously approved a Resolution for Maintenance Under the Illinois Highway Code with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) for Fiscal Year 2026-2027 in the amount of $2,546,098.50 with no further discussion.
Under the approved resolution, over $2.5 million of Motor Fuel Tax (MFT) funds will be used to maintain streets and highways in Belleville from May 1, 2026, to April 30, 2027.
The next resolution, concerning a joint funding agreement between the city and the IDOT for the construction of a roundabout at the proposed intersection of IL-158 and IL-13, raised a few questions from council members.
Ward 1 Alderperson Bryan Whitaker had concerns with specific language that called for an appropriation of $480,000 “or as much may be needed to match the required funding” to complete the project. He said this wording “feels like a blank check,” adding that if bids came back much higher than expected, the city could be “on the hook” for funding any amount above the city engineer’s estimate.
City Engineer Scott Saeger said the resolution is worded that way because the city hasn’t received any bids for the project yet – so while state and federal funding amounts have been set, the exact cost of the project is still unknown. However, he added that if bids came back much higher than expected, council members could always reject those bids.
Ward 6 Alderperson Chris Rothweiler had other concerns about the lack of shared maintenance responsibility between the city and state at the intersection. The resolution specifically places the responsibility of maintaining the lighting, curbing, and guttering for the entire intersection on the City of Belleville, but Rothweiler said three-fourths of the intersection is state highway which should be controlled and maintained by the state.
After some discussion, council members agreed to table the joint funding agreement with IDOT until the agency responds to the city’s concerns about maintenance responsibilities. Once the city receives a response from IDOT, the joint funding agreement will reappear on a future Belleville City Council agenda. Stay tuned to Riverbender.com and MetroEastStar.com for the latest developments on this and other agenda items.
