IDOT open house TODAY to look at possible Illinois 57 improvements

QUINCY — The Illinois Department of Transportation’s open house to discuss options for improving Illinois 57 is today.

The event is from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Atrium, 201 S. Third.

In July, IDOT presented it recommendations to the Quincy Community Advisory Group, who is pitching the plan to the state. Options provided were based on engineering and traffic safety criteria, as well as social, economic and environmental constraints.

The 13-mile Ill. 57 corridor is divided into three sections: Urban (Broadway to York), Suburban (York to Radio Road) and Rural (Radio Road to I-172). Recommendations for each section are:

Urban Section (Broadway to York)

• Alternative U-1: Upgrade existing road to improve ride quality, traffic control with road safety and mobility improvements ($1,500,000)
• Alternative U-2: Convert Third and Fourth Streets to two-way traffic on each street (known as decoupling) to improve mobility, safety and ride quality ($5,500,000). NOTE: IDOT also would consider extending the conversions of Third and Fourth Streets to two-way traffic from Broadway to Locust as well.

Suburban Section (York to Radio Road)

• Alternative S-1: Upgrade existing road by adding turn lanes and safety improvements ($7,000,000)
• Alternative S-2: Expanding road to three and four lanes to improve safety and mobility ($17,500,000)

Rural Section (Radio Road to I-172)

• Alternative R-1: Upgrade existing road with some safety and mobility improvements ($7,000,000)
• Alternative R-1A: Upgrade existing road with Marblehead bypass ($20,500,000)
• Alternative R-2: Add an alternating passing lane from Radio Road to I-172 with Marblehead bypass ($51,500,000)

The cost of a basic upgrade of Ill. 57 is $15.5 million.

Quincy Planning and Development Director Chuck Bevelheimer wants people to let IDOT know the local group is in favor of a more substantial improvement — decoupling Third and Fourth, expanding Ill. 57 to three and four lanes from York to Radio Road and adding an alternating passing lane from Radio Road to I-172 with a Marblehead Bypass.

The price tag for those improvements would be $74.5 million, which would be paid for with state dollars.