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Government Center #M103 Home | Site Map | Contact Us |
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(Note: The corridors are roughly 1,000 feet in width except at the system interchanges that may involve greater width. The typical right-of-way width is about 300 feet except in interchange areas.)
No Build - The No Build Alternate is the "do nothing" alternate or "base condition" against which the major transportation investment in any build alternate is compared. The No Build Alternate includes committed roadway improvements (such as the widening of Towanda-Barnes Road to four lanes from US 150 to Fort Jesse Road, the widening of Veterans Parkway to six lanes from the Conrail/Norfolk & Southern Railway around the east side of Bloomington-Normal to I-55, and the widening of I-55/74 to six lanes around the west side of Bloomington-Normal), but includes no additional major transportation investment in any new or existing route in the study area. The No Build Alternate may be selected if the need for a new route or upgrading of an existing route is not demonstrated, the new route or existing route improvement is not feasible, or the adverse community and environmental consequences of every build alternate are unacceptable.
Alternate A - The Far West Alternate runs from I-74 far west of Downs to I-55 west of Towanda. This Alternate is similar to Alternate C, but begins farther west on I-74 than Alternate C in order to be closer to the new State Farm campus (along the east side of Veterans Parkway near Ireland Grove Road). The four-lane freeway begins at I-74 near the existing Old Colonial Road (County Highway 30) overpass; runs eastward to Towanda-Barnes Road (County Highway 29) near Cheney's Grove Road; and turns northward to parallel Towanda-Barnes Road about 3,000 feet to the east. At Fort Jesse Road, Alternate A angles northwest crossing Towanda-Barnes Road south of 1800 North Road; and terminates at I-55 just east of Airport Road (1800 East Road). In addition to the system interchanges with I-74 and I-55, Alternate A includes proposed interchanges at US 150, Towanda-Barnes Road (near Cheney's Grove Road), Ireland Grove Road, Illinois 9 (Empire Street), Fort Jessie Road, and Towanda-Barnes Road (south of 1800 North Road). Railways and other McLean County roadways would be grade separated or relocated. This corridor is about 11.0 miles in length and the total project cost is about $266 million.
Alternate B - This alternate serves as the Transportation System Management option linking improved four-lane Towanda-Barnes Road to I-74 on the south and I-55 on the north along the Alternate C corridor. The corridor is the same as Alternate C except that the freeway is not built (or deferred) between the south Towanda-Barnes Road interchange near Cheney's Grove Road and the north Towanda-Barnes Road interchange. Except in the interchange areas, no further improvements are proposed to Towanda-Barnes Road. This alternate involves 3.4 miles of freeway construction at a project cost of about $158 million.
Alternate C - The West Alternate runs from I-74 west of Downs to I-55 west of Towanda. This Alternate is similar to Alternate A, but begins farther east on I-74 than Alternate A to provide a more direct connection to Towanda-Barnes Road and better access to Downs. This freeway alternate begins at I-74 just east of the existing 1750 East Road overpass; and continues northeast joining the Alternate A corridor at the Towanda-Barnes Road (County Highway 29) near Cheney's Grove Road. Alternate C has the same proposed interchanges as Alternate A. This corridor is about 10.4 miles in length and the total project cost is about $250 million.
Alternate D - The West-East Alternate runs from I-74 west of Downs to I-55 east of Towanda. This Alternate avoids the relocation of the I-55 mainline, in contrast to Alternates A, B and C. The corridor of Alternate D is the same as Alternate C from I-74 to General Electric Road. At General Electric Road, this alternate turns northeast to interchange with I-55 midway between 1975 East Road and 2150 East Road. This Alternate has the same proposed interchanges as Alternates A and C except that the north Towanda-Barnes Road interchange is replaced by the 1900 North Road (County Highway 14) interchange. This corridor is about 12.5 miles in length and the total project cost is about $246 million.
Alternate E - The East Alternate runs from I-74 east of Downs to I-55 east of Towanda. The four-lane freeway begins at I-74 just west of the 2200 East Road; runs parallel to 2200 East Road about 2,500 feet to the west; and terminates at I-55 midway between 1975 East Road and 2150 East Road (like Alternate D). In addition to the system interchanges with I-74 and I-55, Alternate E includes proposed interchanges at County Highway 36, Ireland Grove Road, Illinois 9 (Empire Street), Fort Jessie Road, and 1900 North Road (County Highway 14). This corridor is about 12.5 miles in length and the total project cost is about $235 million.