Belleville council approves local funding and joint IDOT agreement for Freeburg Avenue roundabout

The Belleville City Council approved local funds and a joint funding agreement with the Illinois Department of Transportation on Jan. 20 to support construction of a proposed roundabout at the Freeburg Avenue intersection of Illinois 158 and Illinois 13.

Council considered a motion to appropriate local funds "in the amount of 480,000" for the project and voted to approve the measure after a roll call that included several "No" votes (Obien, Whitaker, Schneider, Dowling Urban). The council later approved a joint funding agreement with IDOT for federally funded construction of the same roundabout and passed an addendum (addendum No. 4) addressing jurisdiction and maintenance responsibilities.

The roundabout project was tied to TIF 3 in council discussion and was presented to the council as carrying all necessary work to complete the project. Council members recorded opposition on parts of the package during roll calls, but the motions carried by majority vote.

Resolution 35-61, presented later in the meeting to formalize the joint funding agreement, was read and adopted by roll call.

Council did not set a construction start date or detailed contract schedule during the meeting; staff indicated the actions enable the city to proceed with the funding structure and agreements needed to advance the design and permitting process.

Next steps: with the appropriation and agreements approved, project administration, final engineering and IDOT coordination will follow; the meeting record ties the package to TIF 3 and the joint funding mechanism but does not state a procurement or construction timeline.