Southern Illinois Notes

[3467]

No objections. I got an Update from Corridor 67 . Pretty much what is inn the plan. Planning and Land is continuing to carry it to Jerseyville.

[3467]

For those of you on edge US 51 is officially cancelled in today's Federal Register. Will try to get a link at some point .

[edwaleni]

For those of you on edge US 51 is officially cancelled in today's Federal Register. Will try to get a link at some point .

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-02-13/pdf/2020-02920.pdf

The
FHWA, in cooperation with the Illinois
Department of Transportation (IDOT),
issued a notice of intent to prepare an
environmental impact statement (EIS)
on November 26, 2007 (72 FR 67779).
The project proposal was to address
potential increases in traffic volumes,
operational issues, and State economic
initiatives of the existing 70-mile
roadway facility south of Pana to east of
Irvington, Illinois.
The FHWA is rescinding the notice of
intent because IDOT has no plans to
advance the project and no further
activities will occur in its development.
Comments or questions concerning
this notice should be directed to FHWA
or the Illinois Department of
Transportation at the addresses
provided above.

[3467]

No formal obit like US 30 which has a lot of media just the formal notice. I found no articles about it.
Well we know 336 was replaced by 24 and is over.
50 gets a bypass but is otherwise gone and so now is 51
34 67 and 127 live on . 127 has its own thread in SW  connector.

I will ask hear about Illinois 29 North of Peoria and US 20 . They should be in the great lakes but they really only care about Chicago.

[3467]

Miles need to complete existing projects.
127 About 18 to South of Pickneyville I only include that because the studies on the other 2 segments have not started.
67 About 27 on the southern segment and 46 for the other .
34 About 5
24 maybe 5 if they extend to Canton.
Only freeway segment might be Jerseyville bypass. Maybe Macomb but not much interest in that for 67 never was.

[edwaleni]

I will ask hear about Illinois 29 North of Peoria and US 20 . They should be in the great lakes but they really only care about Chicago.

IL-29 from Mossville to Hennepin has been dead a long time. IDOT said the Hennepin Spur (I-180) should have never been built in the first place.

Chillicothe would love to have the bypass and improvements, but the last word was that there just isn't enough AADT.  I-39 sealed its fate.

[3467]

It's still on the featured projects website but then again so is 51.

[edwaleni]

It's still on the featured projects website but then again so is 51.

I think you and I know that some "projects" linger for political purposes rather than actual planning purposes.

[3467]

On we sure do.....also Illinois never update it's web pages.

[adt1982]

Will they at least finish the 4-lane of US 51 to the point where it multiplexes with IL 16?

[ilpt4u]

Will they at least finish the 4-lane of US 51 to the point where it multiplexes with IL 16?

I wouldn't bother. The traffic levels are not really there. But maybe IDOT will. Who knows...IL has enough fiscal issues already

[Revive 755]

^ IMHO they should at least build a two lane version of the Pana bypass for US 51

[3467]

I was googling articles about what happened to this project and found the mayor of Pana   really didn't want one IDOT  pretty much drops a project whenever that happens anymore. District 6 is doing new shoulders and other work in Pana.
It's under the old EIS so they could but it sure looks like 51 is done.

[edwaleni]

I was googling articles about what happened to this project and found the mayor of Pana   really didn't want one IDOT  pretty much drops a project whenever that happens anymore. District 6 is doing new shoulders and other work in Pana.
It's under the old EIS so they could but it sure looks like 51 is done.

Pana *wants* traffic to come through town, not drive around it. The only issue is the stop and jog to the west honestly.

So if Pana is a no. Vandalia couldnt reach an agreement, then I can see why IDOT gave it the punt.

Contrast to the US-50 coalition which has been outright begging for a route, and yet IDOT gives it a cold shoulder for 40 years.

This may be related to some work former Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson was attempting to do in his then district before he left due to a stroke. His replacement (McCarter) then became Ambassador to Kenya and the Senate was redistricted. The Highland Illinois Bypass was named "Frank Watson Drive" after he helped get state funding.

Because of all of this it probably fell down the priority list locally and was not promoted (if at all).

Jason Plummer from Staunton is the new senator now post the district redraw. All this turnover has created a seniority gap in the Senate against the entrenched Democrats. Low seniority means low priorities in your district.

[3467]

And you said 50 was dropped in 2017. Rainer was gov. So it was not some partisan thing. Could there be something we don't know about. Omg the West end the Lebanon bypass is fully funded. Not sure if it is 2 or 4 lanes.

[edwaleni]

And you said 50 was dropped in 2017. Rainer was gov. So it was not some partisan thing. Could there be something we don't know about. Omg the West end the Lebanon bypass is fully funded. Not sure if it is 2 or 4 lanes.

One thing I didn't mention. Watson's replacement in the Illinois Senate after he left (McCarter) was from Lebanon Illinois. I am sure that helped.

Why does US-50 go nowhere in the east? Simple.

The 15th US House District now covers from Rantoul on the north, all the way to Metropolis in the south, (except C-U) with Vandalia in the west and parts in between. The noisy wheel in this district has been Effingham Illinois where I-57 and I-70 meet. They have been making a lot of noise in the Illinois delegation about Chicago "starving them" of highway funds. John Shimkus (Collinsville) is the elected official now.

The population of Illinois (and the country) has been shifting and this one is getting quite large to compensate.  This is why it is becoming forgottonia and US-50 has to compete with more efforts in Ways and Means.

In the Illinois House, its the 109th with Darren Bailey, a farmer from Xenia. That district covers all of south eastern Illinois "except" Effingham. The boundary in fact borders the city limits but does not include it.

[ilpt4u]

Assuming Illinois loses a US House of Reps seat after the 2020 Census, which is widely expected to happen, the 15th is likely the District to be carved up and eliminated, and the Democratic Party holds power in the Governor's Mansion and both Chambers of the State House

How exactly it will be carved up, who knows. How it affects Road Projects, well we'll have to see

[edwaleni]

Assuming Illinois loses a US House of Reps seat after the 2020 Census, which is widely expected to happen, the 15th is likely the District to be carved up and eliminated, and the Democratic Party holds power in the Governor's Mansion and both Chambers of the State House

How exactly it will be carved up, who knows. How it affects Road Projects, well we'll have to see

Shimkus is retiring. He expected his district to be eliminated.  When his and the 19th were merged after 2000, it was a nasty election. He doesn't need a repeat.

[3467]

Also there were very few add lanes projects in the suburbs. And the Stevenson and Ike projects got nothing. I am pleased with 34 24 67 and 127. And the Lebanon bypass

Also Indiana appears to be done with 50 as well.

[edwaleni]

Also Indiana appears to be done with 50 as well.

Not quite. From over at the Mid-States Corridor forum, plans to upgrade US-50 to Bedford.

[3467]

Darren Baily is going from Illinois house to Senate unless he is expelled. He enraged the Gov today with a stunt. Put a big x through anything on US 50 or IL 1.

Anything else under study in Indiana South of 70.

[edwaleni]

Darren Baily is going from Illinois house to Senate unless he is expelled. He enraged the Gov today with a stunt. Put a big x through anything on US 50 or IL 1.

Anything else under study in Indiana South of 70.

Mr. Bailey from Xenia knows he has no legislative leverage, so he had nothing to lose by going to court to show the Gov he over-reached.

As for US50, don't look for anything beyond the Lebanon Bypass for the next 20 years regardless of what Mr. Bailey does.

[edwaleni]

Article from 2018.

Illinois State Representative John Cavaletto says the Four Lane U.S. 50 Coalition remains strong for a four-lane highway across the state. He reports during a well-attended meeting in Carlyle recently the group agreed to push a Salem and Lebanon by-pass as the two parts of the project that needed to be completed first.

Cavaletto says it is still not clear who pulled the project off the Illinois Department of Transportation list, but he hopes to have a meeting with the Governor soon to begin the effort to get it restored. He's already gotten the support of Congressmen John Shimkus, Mike Bost, and Rodney Davis to seek federal money for the project if President Trump is successful in getting his major capital works program off the ground. Cavaletto is hopeful U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth will also join the effort.

Cavaletto feels the Salem bypass is key to growth opportunities for the city.

"I think IDOT has done some work on where it may go and I know there is speculation that the Tonti Road is the area and I would say that is probably right.  You have the railroad tracks on the south side and it will probably go north and intersect with I-57 somewhere up there.  So that would be good for Salem."

And Cavaletto says there is another reason for completion of the four-lane highway.

"Since 2007 to 2014 there's been over 30 deaths on this highway.  The safety part of it has to be there.  It hasn't been kept up like it should be.  It's not a really good road to travel and it's crowded.  Our coalition is not going to let this die.  It's either going to be this governor or the next one that will help us get this to four-lane."
Cavaletto has labeled this as his last project he wants to see to completion and plans to stay involved even after his term expires in January. He realizes the project isn't one that will be completed in a few years but wants a plan in place that would eventually lead to the project's completion.

[triplemultiplex]

Illinois literally has hundreds of more deserving projects than four-laning US 50.  Yeah maybe if the state was flush with cash it might be worth possibly considering, but at this time it reeks of pork; and not the good kind; the shit that's mostly fat and gets sent to the cheap-ass dog food factory.

[edwaleni]

Illinois literally has hundreds of more deserving projects than four-laning US 50.  Yeah maybe if the state was flush with cash it might be worth possibly considering, but at this time it reeks of pork; and not the good kind; the shit that's mostly fat and gets sent to the cheap-ass dog food factory.

I think you can find plenty of projects that reeks of pork, especially in Illinois.

I also think there are projects that remediate some safety issues.

US-20 from Freeport to Dubuque is a huge one.

US-50 from Salem to Carlye uses a legacy (1920's era) ROW with poor geometry in places and inadequate widths.  This is why this particular politician wants to see something.

I don't dispute US-50 doesn't show a need for a 4 lane completely across the state today, especially between I-57 in Salem east to US-45 in Flora. AADT shows very little traffic between Olney and Flora.

But the AADT does support a capacity increase west of Salem, which the representative was explaining in his comments.

The Lebanon Bypass is a safety issue all the way. Problems with heavy trucks in town and accidents.

If anything, US-50 needs to get off the rest of its legacy 2 lane ROW. Xenia to Salem, and then Salem to Carlye. The projects in the late 1960's didn't get finished and left some unsafe segments behind.

IDOT still thinks they can acquire traffic in the Twin Cities to St Louis route using the CKC and US-67 which is a fallacy. Once Missouri builds the Hannibal Bypass, shippers will have little use for the IDOT route.

Any US-67 enhancements at this point is to satisfy some political activities and 1 logistics center planned for Jerseyville.

Once frac oil comes back (and it will someday), SE Illinois will be a hot bed once again.