336
Coalition
“Gateway to Western Illinois”
P.O.
Box 761 • Canton, Illinois 61520
April 4, 2003
Chairman James Inhofe
Senate Committee on
Environment And Public Works
Dear Mr. Chairman,
We are excited to
provide you and your committee information on the 336 Coalition and its mission
to assist the Illinois Department of Transportation in the building of a four
lane highway connecting Peoria, IL, to Macomb, IL, running through Fulton County.
Enclosed you will
find information pertaining to many of the issues we feel you will find of
importance as you consider this vital project’s place of importance in the
upcoming TEA-3 federal bill under consideration.
Again, thank you for
this opportunity. We stand ready to answer any questions or provide any
additional information you may need.
Sincerely,
Mark W. Johann
President
336 Coalition
Our Request
The 336 Coalition is
urging support for inclusion of demonstration funds in the upcoming TEA-3
Federal Transportation Bill. The Illinois Department of Transportation has
estimated that their continued funding needs to enter Phase II of this project
will be $14.4 million.
These funds would
allow progress on a four lane highway linking Peoria, IL, to Macomb, IL, to
proceed to Phase II of the project. This highway will be a continuation of Rt.
336, which is currently fully funded and under construction from Quincy, IL, to
Macomb, IL.
The Need for
the Highway
The overwhelming
need in Fulton County is for modern 4-lane highway access to, amongst many
other things, spur economic growth and stave off general economic decline.
Currently, Fulton County’s unemployment rate stands at 11.6%, second highest
in the state. For the past 20 years, Fulton County has been at the top
of the state’s unemployment charts. The area was hit hard when International
Harvester closed its Canton production facility and when the coal mining
business in Illinois went virtually out of business.
Enclosed you will
find an Analysis of the Presence of Four Lane Highways and Unemployment
Rates for thirty (30) of the largest counties in Illinois. It reveals
the following:
·
By land area,
Fulton County is the 10th largest county in the State of Illinois. Of the
seventeen (17) largest counties in the State, Fulton County is the only county
without any 4-lane highways within its borders.
·
Since 1980,
Fulton County’s unemployment rate has not recovered. It is nearly double the
state and national average and currently continues to be the highest amongst
the 30 Counties listed in the analysis. As of February 2003, the unemployment
rate hovered at 11.6% second highest for all counties in Illinois.
·
Of the 30
largest counties in the state of Illinois (by land size), only three (3) do not
have any 4-lane highways running within their borders. Fulton County has the
largest population of the three.
·
Of the
twenty-seven (27) largest Counties (by land size) having a 4-lane highway
running within their borders, seven (7) of those counties have a lesser
population than does Fulton County.
Please reference
enclosed analysis (data as of April 2002).
Estimated
Costs
Phase I of the
Peoria to Macomb portion of Illinois 336 is fully funded at a cost of $12.5 million. Those funds were made available by way of the
Illinois First program.
Officially, the
Illinois Department of Transportation is projecting the ultimate
cost to be in the range of $800 million. IDOT’s projection contemplates the
effects of inflation and the uncertainty of the time of completion.
An excerpt from the
336 Coalition’s website state that the cost for completion of Phase II and
Phase III could ranged from $250 million to $400 million with that range
anticipating completion within the next ten (10) to fifteen (15) years.
Timetable
It has been said
that it can take as long as twenty (20) years or more to build a four-lane
highway. Some argue that is has already taken nearly thirty (30) years for this
highway dating back to an original plan that was a component of the Chicago to
Kansas City Highway.
Given the depressed
economic conditions that exist in the Fulton County area of Illinois, it is
essential to the future of this area that this project moves forward as quickly
as possible.
Going forward, the
timetable will very much depend on having the remaining funding available as
DOT proceeds through each of the three phases. If funding is available, it
could _take as few as ten years to see the highway completed. Portions of the
highway could be opened to traffic as various segments are completed.
Current Status
In late 2002, the
Illinois Department of Transportation awarded contracts to URS Consultants to
assist in the formation of Phase I planning. Those efforts are currently
underway with focus groups and fieldwork in process. IDOT anticipates being
able to define a preferred corridor for the segment running from Peoria to
Macomb by the spring of 2004. The alignment portion of Phase one will commence
immediate thereafter and it too is also fully funded.
Proposed Route
Enclosed you will
find a map provided by the Transportation Task Force of the Tri-State
Commission. The Tri-State Commission represents interests in portions of
South-Eastern Iowa, North-Eastern Missouri, and West-Central Illinois.
The map identifies
the potential corridors for the highway from Peoria to Macomb as a “Priority
Corridor”. It is represented on the map with red hash marks.
The importance of
this highway is evident on its own merits. When viewed in conjunction with
highway projects that could develop in the greater Peoria area (providing
improved connections to the greater Chicago metropolitan area of Illinois) it
becomes even more essential to all of Illinois.
The 336
Coalition-Background
The 336 Coalition is
a group of concerned citizens, businesses, government officials, and
communities focused on the construction of a four-lane highway running from
Peoria to Macomb.
This highway project
will be a continuation of a new four-lane highway currently under construction
(with 20+ miles open for use) connecting Quincy, IL, to Macomb, IL. Ultimately,
it will become part of as system that will provide economic development
opportunities along its path as well as providing the means to open West-Central
Illinois to Central and Eastern Illinois. This project will also provide
additional commerce from Chicago to Kansas City. In fact, over thirty (30)
years ago, this portion of highway was a component of the original Chicago to
Kansas City highway.
The 336 Coalition
started its efforts in late 1998 and evolved out of a community mapping effort
that identified the lack of adequate four lane surface transportation as the
most critical need to bring growth to the West Central Illinois area. The lack
of a modern four-lane highway was also viewed as the greatest cause of stagnant
to declining populations and economies in many of the area’s communities and
for the highest unemployment rates in the State of Illinois. The Coalition
later discovered strong support in the Peoria, Macomb, and Quincy for the
benefits Highway 336 could bring to those areas of Illinois. The Greater Peoria
Airport would also be a benefactor of our efforts.
The 336 Coalition
has grown to include members from most, if not all, of the communities between
Peoria and Macomb. There are over 40 resolutions of support from various city
and county governments in addition to other important organizations such as the
Fulton County Farm Bureau.
The semi-annual 336
Update is a newsletter that currently has a mailing and e-mail list of over
4,000 subscribers. You can find current and past issues of the 336 Update via
the link on this site.
The name of the
Coalition was christened from Illinois 336 that is under construction (and
fully funded) connecting Quincy and Macomb. Portions are currently open to
traffic with the remainder scheduled to be completed by 2006. Illinois 336
would be the logical extension running from Macomb to Peoria and is, in fact,
referenced as such by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Additional
Information
Additional
information is available via the 336 Coalition’s website:
Or by contacting:
Mark W. Johann
President
336 Coalition
P.O. Box 761
Canton, IL 61520