The Illinois Department of Transportation accepted a proposal from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to perform specific tasks associated with the study of a southern Illinois corridor for the TransAmerica Corridor (I-66.) The primary goals for the Department were to assess support for the project and identify any sensitive areas and issues associated with it. These goals were accomplished by conducting a Public Informational Meeting; coordinating with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Illinois Department of Agriculture, the US Fish & Wildlife Service, and the USDA Forest Service; and collecting roadway inventory data. The results of these activities were provided in a document submitted to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet for inclusion in their study.

Local interest has remained strong in this interstate proposal. Many citizens support a proposed routing through southern Illinois connecting Paducah , Kentucky , to Cape Girardeau , Missouri . This alternate has been retained by the current Kentucky study along with the no build option and two alignments going directly from Kentucky to Missouri.

A Public Informational Meeting was held on the evening of June 17, 2003 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Shawnee Community College in Ullin , Illinois with an estimated 450 persons in attendance. A total of 760 comments were received as a result of the meeting. Of those responses, nearly two thirds (64%) indicated support for a southern Illinois corridor with 84 % of Illinois respondents indicating support.

It is anticipated that the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet will make a final corridor recommendation in their final report by the end of the year.