New road will be focus of hearings
Planners: Construction is ten years away
nlovelady@bnd.com
After
eight years in the making, the Illinois Department of Transportation is now in
the final stages of preserving a 37-mile stretch of land from Columbia to Troy
for future transportation needs.
The transportation
department will release to the public this week the preferred corridor for the
Gateway Connector Corridor Protection Study.
The 400-foot wide
corridor, will begin at the Interstate 55/70 and U.S. 40 interchange in Troy
and end near the Interstate 255 and Illinois 3 interchange in Columbia.
The corridor will
preserve a pathway for a possible road to be built in response to a significant
population growth in the metro-east, said IDOT Engineering Studies Manager
Candace Sauermann.
The corridor protection
study began in spring 2003, but the initial idea for the Gateway Connector
project arose in a 1998 November meeting held between St. Clair County and IDOT
engineers.
During the meeting, the
St. Clair County and IDOT personnel discussed the steps it would take to
preserve a corridor, including the initial feasibility study, the design concepts
and public involvement.
In a letter written to
the Illinois Secretary of Transportation one month after the 1998 meeting, St.
Clair County Board Chairman John Baricevic requested "that the Department
commit to a study to identify a preserved corridor for the 'Outer belt.'"
The next year, IDOT conducted a feasibility study for the project.
Today, Baricevic still
supports the corridor protection.
"We don't believe a
highway is needed today, but if you don't (preserve) the land right of way, you
wont be able to have it when you need it," Baricevic said.
Sauermann said IDOT
engineers have worked hard to include the major concerns presented by the
community, including environmental and home displacement.
The number of property
owners who live within the preferred corridor is fewer than 300, Sauermann
said.
"This is indicative
of the process that we have worked to have a minimal impact," Sauermann
said.
In September, IDOT
engineers met with elected officials from Madison, St. Clair and Monroe
counties, and presented them with the preferred corridor and its impact.
"Everybody was very
happy with it," Sauermann said. "I think the mayors, senators and
representatives understand that this region is growing and an additional
transportation facility will be needed."
According to the
feasibility study, IDOT expects the population in Madison County will increase
by 12 percent, St. Clair County by 8 percent, and Monroe County by 29 percent.
With the added population growth, IDOT expects the traffic volume for Interstate
64, Illinois 159 and Illinois 158 to increase by more than 70 percent.
The corridor study has
been under scrutiny by grass-roots organization Stop 158. The group is made up
of people from Madison, St. Clair and Monroe counties who oppose the building
of an outer belt.
One of the biggest
concerns the group has is that a road built in the rural areas will cause a
disruption in the quality of life.
"(The corridor
protection) would disrupt and punish property owners today, those with real
lifestyles, real quality of life, real families and needs, dreams and
hopes," said Richard Ellerbrake, a Stop 158 member.
Since coming together as
an organization in 2003, Stop 158 has received community and political support.
During a St. Clair
County Board meeting last month, a proposal was passed by the board which would
prevent premature construction along the corridor until it was necessary.
Last month, the
organization presented some 90 local and state legislators with about 1,200
petition signatures from people in the three counties affected by the corridor.
"Many more of the
people who have signed (the petitions) are not in the path of corridor,"
Ellerbrake said. He said that Stop 158 is not a "not in my back yard"
organization. "The people who have signed these are concerned of the
adverse impact this road will have in the metro-east."
Among the other concerns
of Stop 158 include limited ability to improve on their property once a
corridor is established. Once established, property owners within the corridor
must contact IDOT before make any improvement that might increase the value of
their property. Without contacting IDOT, the property owner will not be
compensated for the improvement when it comes time for IDOT to purchase the
land.
The transportation
department contends it will take more than 12 years before construction begins,
Sauermann said. The state has not allocated money for a road design nor for
construction of a road, which could cost up to $500 million if the corridor was
made an interstate, Sauermann said.
After the public has
viewed the preferred corridor, IDOT will finalize the corridor location in
court. Once finalized, a 10-year location and environmental study will begin,
which will determine what type of road will be built, and the adverse impacts
the road would have on the environment and the surrounding communities.
Sauermann said if an environmental study shows a road would do
significant damage to the environment or if federal transportation officials do
not sign off on the project, the corridor protection could possibly be lifted.