ROCK FALLS – Blackhawk Hills Regional Council has received funding from the Illinois Department of Transportation to provide rural transportation planning assessments for Carroll, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, and Whiteside counties with emphasis on the Upper Mississippi River International Port District area.

The scope of work will help to coordinate the region’s efforts to conduct an initial inventory and produce a plan to assess the water, rail, highway, and airport transportation networks that impact the economic vitality of the area. The plan will include documentation from public meetings, existing plans, established goals and objectives, as well as alternative solutions as they relate to rural planning initiatives.

Blackhawk Hills will update the rural transportation plan on an annual basis as a component of the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Plan for the region as required by the Economic Development Administration.