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Moving ahead on the Road of Honor in Keokuk

The city unveiled the Road of Honor designation during a ceremony on Thursday, June 30. “The name of it is Road of Honor but the theme is about respect,” said Vietnam veteran Bill Smith (on the far right in the photo).
Rich Egger
/
TSPR
The city unveiled the Road of Honor designation during a ceremony on Thursday, June 30, 2022. “The name of it is Road of Honor but the theme is about respect,” said Vietnam veteran Bill Smith (on the far right in the photo).

Supporters of the Road of Honor in Keokuk continue raising money for the project.

The city last year held a ceremony during which it gave South 18th Street the honorary designation of the Road of Honor. Red, white, and blue signs note the designation.

The street takes visitors to Keokuk National Cemetery, which is the only national cemetery in Iowa and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

South 18th Street has been patched up through the years but has never received a proper resurfacing, resulting in a road that’s in need of an upgrade.

Mayor Kathie Mahoney would like to see that work begin soon.

“We’re hoping that maybe in March or April of next year we can put the first shovel in the ground, but we’ll see. Things take time. That’s the problem. I’m not very patient,” Mahoney said with a laugh.

She said the Road of Honor committee has sent letters to all American Legions in Iowa, asking for donations of one-dollar per veteran.

Mahoney said the city is also seeking grants, and it should soon receive $960,000 from the federal government.

The estimated cost of the project is more than $3 million.

The plan is to redo the street, the structure underneath, the sidewalks, make it ADA compliant, and do sewer separation work.

Tri States Public Radio produced this story.  TSPR relies on financial support from our readers and listeners in order to provide coverage of the issues that matter to west central Illinois, southeast Iowa, and northeast Missouri. As someone who values the content created by TSPR's news department please consider making a financial contribution.

Rich is TSPR's News Director.