Concern over route stalls plans for map of Gateway Connector
By Rick Pierce

Of the Post-Dispatch

04/19/2004

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Plans stall for map of Gateway Connector.

Key factor is environmentally sensitive area

Concerns about the alignment of the proposed Gateway Connector near Columbia have stalled plans by state officials to file so-called corridor protection maps in Monroe, St. Clair and Madison counties.

The maps would show the precise route, list the affected homeowners and require them to contact the state if they plan any improvements to their property. The original plan was to file the maps this summer.

Now, the goal is to complete that process by the end of the year, said Candace Sauermann, who is overseeing the project for the Illinois Department of Transportation.

A key factor prompting the delay is that the route near Columbia is in an environmentally sensitive area pockmarked with caves and sinkholes. In addition, the planned route would have affected several developments in the Columbia area, including the Pines subdivision.

The road, sometimes called the "outer belt," would extend south of the Interstate 55-70 interchange near Troy, then roughly follow Troy O'Fallon Road, known as Scott Troy Road in St. Clair County. The proposed corridor for the road then picks up Illinois Route 158, continues south and makes a gradual turn to the west. Eventually, the road would connect with Interstate 255 near Columbia.

The project has drawn fire from a group known as Stop 158, which was spawned by plans for the Gateway Connector. Recently, the United Congregations of Metro-East, a group of 26 church congregations in Madison and St. Clair counties, joined with Stop 158 in an effort to block the project.

Stop 158 leaders have pointed out that the overall population of Madison, St. Clair and Monroe counties has dropped since 1970, when the three-county area had 555,333 people. The latest figures, from 2001, show a total of 545,365 people.

However, there has been growth in much of the area along the road corridor. O'Fallon, for example, has gone from 7,309 in 1970 to 21,910 in 2000. More recent figures were not available.

However, Gateway Connector opponents point out that the population shifts from communities such as Granite City and East St. Louis is exacerbated by suburban road construction.

The Rev. Richard Ellerbrake, one of the leaders of Stop 158, pointed out that similar concerns have been raised about plans for a bypass along Illinois Route 159 in Collinsville and the impact that road might have on downtown Collinsville.

"The effect of these connectors on the core areas can be devastating," Ellerbrake said.

Mike Van Riper, who serves on the Monroe Planning Commission, said the delay in filing the corridor maps shows that the process is working properly. Van Riper lives in the Pines subdivision. One proposal, he said, would probably have taken out 17 homes, all of them in the $250,000 to $300,000 range, and affected the value of his own home.

He said he doesn't oppose the road but said better alignments are available in less developed areas around Columbia.

Road construction, if it begins at all, isn't likely for a decade. However, state officials have said it is prudent to begin planning now before land costs go too high.

Exactly what kind of road would be built is unclear. It could be an interstate, a state road built to interstate standards such as Illinois Route 255, or it could be a four-lane divided highway with some crossings marked by traffic signals.

The kind of road determines the cost. One estimate indicates that the total cost could range from $300 million to $400 million.

More information about the project is available at the state's Web site, www.gatewayconnector.com, and the Stop 158 site, www.stop158.org.