PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — In the next four to six years, a construction project on Knoxville Ave. in Peoria should be underway.

Paul Wappel, a spokesperson from the Illinois Department of Transporation (IDOT), said a study was started a year and a half ago starting to assess the needs of Illinois Route 40.

The Department has evaluated safety concerns, traffic projections, and needs for pedestrians, buses, bikes, trains, and more. The reason for the roadwork is because the pavement is old and needs to be reconstructed.

The first community group meeting will take place later this month. Soon after, the department will host multiple public meetings.

Currently, the Department is in Phase 1 — assessing the environment and design. Once they reach Phase 2, they will have more public meetings.

Wappel said IDOT really wants the public’s input on what they’d like to see be done.

IDOT has done some resurfacing on IL-40 (Knoxville Ave.) recently. Wappel said that specific work was done to put them in a good place to start the survey.

Wappel said many factors were taken into consideration, including traffic crashes.