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The Eastern Bypass Study meeting Thursday night brought out several hundred citizens from all over central Illinois as it was the only meeting the Illinois Department of Transportation had scheduled to show communities which six corridors were suggested to keep and which eight to drop.
There are a lot of opinions out there about whether or not this will help Washington or become yet another lengthy construction project that will hinder more than help.
While it is too early to tell because the final corridor hasn’t been chosen by the Community Advisory Group and IDOT officials, Washington city councilman Jim Gee said the important thing is to look to the future for reasons if this needs to be built.
“The community needs to look into the future and see what is needed 40-50 years from now and that’s difficult to do,” said Gee who is also a member of the CAG and attends meetings with IDOT on the study.
While Gee wanted to hold off on forming an opinion on how this may affect Washington, he said “a lot of it depends on where it will be built — either to the east of Washington or to the west.”
“I made a presentation to the city council three months ago and I’ll say that there was interest on both sides — some wanted east and some members preferred it to the west.”
It is important to note that this is primarily a study at this point with no guarantee that it will even be built.
“(IDOT) has to prove to the (CAG) that we really need it,” he said. “There’s a lot of questions about it.”
Some concerns that community members have, according to Gee, are the amount of land — either farm or residential — that the project could take up.
“One of my biggest concerns is where it goes — east it could take up a lot of farmland, but if west, how many residents or businesses will it affect positively, but I’m also concerned about number of families that will relocate.”
Planning and Development Director Jon Oliphant said the city council has only had a few discussions about it, but said most preferred the M-10 corridor, which would tie in at Tennessee Avenue in Morton and run east of Washington.
He also said that it is too early to tell what kind of impact a “ring road” like this would have on Washington.
“Certainly if the road goes through, it would be a benefit on an economic basis, but that is yet to be seen,” Oliphant said. “We stand to benefit in some manner, but it’s hard to tell.
To read the story about the meeting Thursday night and where the study currently stands, click here.
The Eastern Bypass Study meeting Thursday night brought out several hundred citizens from all over central Illinois as it was the only meeting the Illinois Department of Transportation had scheduled to show communities which six corridors were suggested to keep and which eight to drop.
There are a lot of opinions out there about whether or not this will help Washington or become yet another lengthy construction project that will hinder more than help.
While it is too early to tell because the final corridor hasn’t been chosen by the Community Advisory Group and IDOT officials, Washington city councilman Jim Gee said the important thing is to look to the future for reasons if this needs to be built.
“The community needs to look into the future and see what is needed 40-50 years from now and that’s difficult to do,” said Gee who is also a member of the CAG and attends meetings with IDOT on the study.
While Gee wanted to hold off on forming an opinion on how this may affect Washington, he said “a lot of it depends on where it will be built — either to the east of Washington or to the west.”
“I made a presentation to the city council three months ago and I’ll say that there was interest on both sides — some wanted east and some members preferred it to the west.”
It is important to note that this is primarily a study at this point with no guarantee that it will even be built.
“(IDOT) has to prove to the (CAG) that we really need it,” he said. “There’s a lot of questions about it.”
Some concerns that community members have, according to Gee, are the amount of land — either farm or residential — that the project could take up.
“One of my biggest concerns is where it goes — east it could take up a lot of farmland, but if west, how many residents or businesses will it affect positively, but I’m also concerned about number of families that will relocate.”
Planning and Development Director Jon Oliphant said the city council has only had a few discussions about it, but said most preferred the M-10 corridor, which would tie in at Tennessee Avenue in Morton and run east of Washington.
He also said that it is too early to tell what kind of impact a “ring road” like this would have on Washington.
“Certainly if the road goes through, it would be a benefit on an economic basis, but that is yet to be seen,” Oliphant said. “We stand to benefit in some manner, but it’s hard to tell.
To read the story about the meeting Thursday night and where the study currently stands, click here.
