April 4, 2003
The Honorable Peter Fitzgerald
United States Senate
Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Fitzgerald:
The Highway 34 Coalition
strongly supports actions that will ensure the completion of US 34 as a
four-lane highway in Illinois and Iowa. We believe that we are at an especially
crucial crossroad. There is heavy competition throughout the nation and the
states for limited resources for new road construction. Therefore, the
Coalition is requesting that legislation be undertaken that will ensure that
the U.S. 34 four-lane improvement remains a top priority with the US
Department of Transportation and receives full funding.
The Highway 34 Coalition was
formed in 1990 as bi-state, bi-partisan coalition of community organizations,
local government representatives, businesses and individuals who were committed
to revitalizing the economic climate of the region through the improvement of
the transportation system-especially the US 34 corridor. Our focus and
commitment to this project has not diminished during the past 13 years.
We believe that US 34
should be completed as a four-lane because. . .
·
Between January 1990 and
June 2002, 1,666 accidents including 14 fatalities (January 1994- June
2002) occurred on U.S. 34 in Henderson and Warren counties.
·
Seven high accident
locations have been identified within the US 34 project corridor.
·
The proposed
improvements are expected to reduce traffic accident rates in these areas by
providing a safer, more efficient route between Monmouth and Gulfport.
·
Within the four-lane
expressway around the west and north sides of Monmouth, the accident rate for
1998, 1999 and 2000 ranged up to 4.38 accidents per million vehicle miles
traveled as compared to the statewide average accident rate for urban divided highway
of 1.52 accidents per million vehicle miles traveled.
• Much of US 34 from US 67 to
Giilfport lacks adequate shoulders and clear zones. Portions of this
section do not meet current standards for horizontal alignment and that passing
sight distance is limited.
·
US 34 is a key regional
corridor for the east-west movement of people and goods in, and through, west
central Illinois. US 34 will be the major east-west corridor connecting
Interstate 74 and the Avenue of the Saints (Interstate 218).
·
The Great River
Bridge/US 34 over the Mississippi River is the only four-lane bridge for
approximately 130 miles. (Nearest four-lane bridges are in the Quad Cities and
at Hamilton. The nearest bridges are at Muscatine (46 miles north) and Niota
(17 miles south)-but they are only two lane. The existing large volume of truck
traffic (13-31 %) is expected to increase.
·
US 34 is vital to the economic
growth of west central Illinois. US 34 is a regional highway priority as
identified by the Tri-State Development Summit Transportation Task Force.
·
The average daily traffic
volume on US 34 ranges from 10,300 west off the Carman blacktop to a range of
3,950-7,500 along the corridor and at the US 67 Interchange. (Projected traffic
volumes along the existing route are expected to range from 6,200 to 17,500 in
the 2025 design year.) (The Big River Resources ethanol plant estimates 3,000
trucks per month will be added to the traffic count on US 34 when it begins
operations in West Burlington the fall of 2003.)
·
Each year the cost
increases. The estimated total costs to complete the highway in December 2000
was $295 million. In February 2003, the estimated total cost was up to $330
million-that’s a $40 million increase in just 26 months. That’s almost a $1
million per mile per year cost increase.
·
The time has come to
complete the US 34 Corridor. The project started 36 years ago. During 1963-69, the
Illinois Highway Study Commission prepared a highway needs and study plan for
the state. As part of that plan, several different corridor approvals were
granted in the vicinity of US 34. In 1967
a corridor from Gulfport to southwest
of Gladstone was approved and in 1970 a corridor from Gladstone to Monmouth.
However, it wasn’t until 1997 that the U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration allocated funding to prepare an Environmental
Impact Statement.
Your support in ensuring that
US 34 becomes a four-lane highway sooner than later is greatly appreciated.
Please find enclosed testimonials concerning the need for the few miles
remaining to be completed. Let’s make it 0 miles to go!
Respectfully,
Kurt McChesney, Chairman
Highway 34 Coalition
***
The following are excerpts from
letters received by the Highway 34 Coalition from businesses, community
organizations and governmental entities in support of completing US 34
as a four-lane for safety and economic reasons:
The Board of Directors of the Big
River Resources Cooperative ethanol plant project strongly encourages the
development and expansion of US 34 in western Illinois and eastern Iowa. The
Big River plant will begin operation in December or January of 2003/2004 and we
anticipate 150 trucks or semis to be using US 34 on a daily
basis to deliver corn and manufactured goods as well as carry the products we
are producing. We believe that expanding from the present two-lane to the
proposed four-lane is essential for not only safety concerns but will be an
economic benefit to the region surrounding Burlington, IA and Monmouth, IL.
Big River Resources presently has
an office in Illinois as the site in Iowa is under construction. We are a
regional project whose goal is to add economic benefits to the agricultural
sector of this region. We are aware of US 34 on a daily basis and realize the
important connection it is between Illinois and Iowa.
Terry Davis, Legislative co-chairman
264 US Hwy 67
Roseville, IL 61473
Nelson
Trucking Service, Inc., Mediapolis, IA
Nelson Trucking Service would like
to express its support of the 34 Coalition and its effort to see that the
highway in question is completed this resulting in a 4-lane highway. Nelson
Trucking has been in business for over 70 years and this particular stretch of
road is a familiar one for us.
We operate 15-20 trucks on a daily
basis through this stretch of road We are a flatbed operation that hauls
numerous loads of building materials (ex. Steel, shingles, lumber, brick) to
meet our customers’ needs in the Southeast Iowa and Illinois area. For Nelson
personally, that means millions of miles and in excess of 180,000,000 lbs. per
year. An expanded road for our industry means a higher security for our divers
and fellow highway users. Obviously, accidents are reduced and fears are eased.
Nelson Trucking would like nothing better than to see that every opportunity
has been taken to ensure the safety of all drivers on the road.
Nelson Trucking Company
Confirming our telephone
conversation this morning, we at the Monmouth Grain & Dryer Co. Inc., are
proud to sponsor one of the golf holes at the “Highway 34 Coalition Golf
Outing.” We certainly understand the importance of this project moving forward.
From Monmouth to the Burlington, Iowa area, our company transports approximately 60,000 tons of goods per year. Needless to say, we are very concerned about safety while traveling the current conditions. We are always aware of safe conditions and can attest to the difference from east-to west out of Monmouth.
James M. Lovdahl, President Monmouth Grain & Dryer Co.,
Inc.
Wal-Mart
Stores, Inc., Mt. Pleasant, IA.
My staff and I wholeheartedly
support the efforts of the Highway 34 Coalition!
Our facility uses US 34 daily to
ship merchandise to our Wal-Mart Stores and Supercenters. We also use the
corridor very heavily to bring freight back to our Distribution Center from
vendors and consolidators in Illinois and points east. We certainly depend on
this highway to run out business!
At the same time, our Drivers have
had some very close calls-near collisions-while navigating this road. The
narrowness of the road itself, limited sight
distance in certain areas, and slow-moving local traffic are the main problems
here.
It’s obvious
to us that based on usage and the importance of this road, it should be a
four-lane highway. Please include us in any efforts to make that happen. And
let any/all influencers and decision makers involved with this effort know that
Wal-Mart supports a better, safer highway.
Chick Yatsko, General Transportation Manager
Wal-Mart Distribution Center, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa
Every year Atlas Intermodal trucks
travel across Highway 34 in Illinois with approximately 3,780 loads. The heavy
traffic on the two-lane section of this road is cause for great concern for the
safety of our divers and others using this highway.
We are certainly supportive of efforts to obtain State of
Illinois commitment to fund building of a four-lane highway.
Beverly A. Ivey, Comptroller
We are a family owned trucking
company that travels Highway 34 routinely, currently operating ten to fifteen
tractor-trailer units on a daily basis. With us conducting a majority of our
business out of a plant in Monmouth, we are constantly using Highway 34 as a
means of transportation.
There have been several occasions
where it has been difficult in making turns onto the Kirkwood blacktop,
traveling east or west, along with making turns onto Highway 34. The bypass
around Kirkwood is a difficult one, in the sense that each exit into
Kirkwood is on a curve making it impossible to have a clear view
upon entering the highway.
Our company conducts business in
Burlington as well and a four lane improvement would allow better visualization
and better traveling for all involved with highway 34 obviously being one of
the highest transportation highways nearby. There have been numerous occasions of
vehicles passing our tractor-trailer units, sometimes on hills and even in no
passing zones, nearly resulting in accidents. Trying to stop or slow down a
loaded unit is a little more complicated then slowing down a car or pickup
truck and the results are usually fatal.
A four lane
highway would increase our production and decrease our cost, by the fact that
with a two lane road there are constant obstacles with vehicles turning along
with farm equipment utilizing the highway, slowing down our units costing us
more to “get going” again. A blow out or other mechanical problem can be
hazardous on a two-lane road as well. A wider shoulder on the four-lane would
provide larger vehicles a place to merge onto, and remain until help arrives.
This would once again be safer for all involved.
The town of Kirkwood could sure
benefit from this as well. Perhaps this would make our town more attractive for
businesses and families for an easier commute. For example, a gas station in
our town would be very beneficial for the residents as well as commuters on the
new Highway 34 expansion.
We are asking you to strongly
consider the continuation of the four-lane highway on Highway 34. Hopefully you
will find that this improvement will decrease the amount of accidents and
fatalities, rebuild our smaller communities, and improve production for our
businesses. After all isn’t saving one life worth it?
James L. Vollbracht, President
Vollbracht Trucking, Kirkwood, IL
I wish to comment on the importance
of the Highway 34 Coalition efforts to the area and to the safety of those
traveling the stretch of highway in question.
I believe that we are seeing an
increase in the traffic volume, especially trucks, since the bridge at
Burlington has been replaced. I find myself waiting longer at intersections
with 34 than was the case 12 years ago when I first started work in Henderson
County. I also think that there will continue to be an increase in the traffic
as Iowa improves their system of roads
leading to Burlington. In my travels this past year I found myself frequently
on Interstate 80 through Iowa. 1-80 seems to be carrying most of the east-west
traffic through Iowa and appears to be reaching its design capacity. There is
sufficient traffic on it to warrant drivers to seek alternate routes. One of
these alternates will surely be Route 34 as it connects back to 1-74 at
Galesburg. When this starts to happen the 22.5 miles of 34 through Henderson and
Warren Counties will become the scene of major accidents.
I realize funding for this
improvement is not readily available but urge the state to keep the improvement
in the current programming. That way should the funds become available work
could start on it in a timely manner.
Henderson County Highway Department
Please be assured that Carl
Sandburg College strongly supports the efforts of the Highway 34 Coalition to
gain DOT funding for the completion of four-lane highway to connect Burlington,
Iowa to Monmouth, Illinois. Our College District #518 covers over 3,000 square
miles in all or parts of ten counties in west central Illinois. Highway 34 is
an integral roadway for our students traveling from Warren and Henderson
counties to our main campus in Galesburg. We also have a significant number of
students who travel Highway 34 west to Burlington to attend Southeastern
Community College through our cooperative agreement with them.
In addition
to the importance of this highway to our students, we have many employees who
equally depend on that road. From an economic development perspective, we
certainly recognize how critical Highway 34 is to commercial and industrial
traffic flow between west central Illinois and western Iowa. Please help to
ensure that the completion of the Highway 34 four-lane is a priority for state
and federal transportation dollars in the near future. We certainly hope that
our legislators recognize the tremendous benefit to this region if the remaining
22 miles of four-lane highway were completed. If our College may be of further
assistance in this effort, please advise.
Sherry L. Berg, Dean
Community & Extension Services
Henderson
County Board, Oquawka, IL.
The economic interest in Henderson
County depends largely on what happens in Burlington, IA area. Therefore,
having a modern highway through West Central Illinois connecting us to this
industrial hub is important.
If you look at a map of Illinois
it is easily seen that our area of the state has been put on the back burner
for years. We are down to 22.5 miles of highway improvements away from being
connected to the interstate highway system with a four-lane road. As you are
well aware, having a four-lane connection in this mobile society is a must. The
four-lane connection will mean possible growth of our Mississippi River
Transportation System.
I hope that you consider our
concerns and keep the future plans for Route 34 in the five-year plan at IDOT.
In closing, I would like to
express our appreciation for the improvement made to 34. We certainly
appreciate the improved connection we now have to Burlington. But we still need
to be connected to the remainder of the country through the interstate systems.
Marion Brown, Chairman
With the end of the year 2000 just
around the corner, it is time to refocus our attention on the things that need
to be accomplished to further our business endeavors. As a business that has
recently taken on a major expansion project, we are very interested in
the progress of the four-lane improvement project from Monmouth, Illinois to
Burlington Iowa. It is vital to the future of our business that this project be
completed as soon as possible.
Once located on the south end of
Monmouth, Chandler Trucking moved to the former Munson Transportation building
on the north edge of Monmouth in January of 2000. Many conversations with city
and county leaders, including Gene Blade of the Partnership for Economic
Development, had convinced us that the location just off of Route 34 would be
ideal to further our expansion project.
In the summer of 2000, Chandler
Salvage and Repair (CSR) was opened as a complete semi truck & trailer
repair center, which also offers auto body services. It is imperative that the
four-lane expansion of Route 34 to Burlington be completed to route business in
to the area where we can benefit from the traffic. This will give truckers the
opportunity to have much needed service done between visits to the home terminals,
resulting in safer trucks and trailers on the road. Truckers coming out of Iowa
will choose to use 34 to gain access to many of the area interstates with a
minimum of traffic congestion. It will not only further our business endeavor,
but also many of the service stations, retail businesses, motels and
restaurants as well.
In relationship to our trucking
operation, the completion of the four-lane expansion would be very beneficial,
as we take loads out of Columbus Junction, Iowa on a regular basis. It would
also improve safety as there are many areas currently that are non-passing
zones. We often hear of collisions due to motorists trying to get around a semi
in unsafe areas. The second lane could only improve those statistics.
The four-lane expansion of 34 to Burlington is an eagerly
awaited benefit for not only our companies, but also many others. We hope that
the Department of Transportation will do everything within its power to hasten
to completion of the project. It may be the road that leads us to new
prosperity in the next millennium.
James and Brenda Chandler, Owners
The Western Illinois Economic Development Partnership
strongly supports the efforts of the Highway 34 Coalition. The 22.5-mile
corridor of two-lane road between Burlington, IA and Monmouth,
IL is a critical link for
commercial and industrial traffic that has exceeded its original capacity. The
improvement to a fourlane transportation system would provide a tremendous benefit
to economic development efforts and increased safety measures for residents of
western Illinois.
Jolene Willis, Executive Director
Western Illinois Economic Development Partnership
The Monmouth Area Chamber of
Commerce strongly supports the efforts of the Highway 34 Coalition. Improving
the stretch of highway between Burlington, IA and Monmouth, IL to a four-lane
is vital to the Monmouth area. Specifically, the safety of the current two-lane
is a concern, and having a new four lane would assist in the economic
development efforts of the Monmouth Area.
Angela McElwee, Executive Director
Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce
This has been a long battle, but
with help, one can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The investment of man-hours,
planning and money has elevated this project to a “call for the question.”
The completion of US Highway 34
from just east of the Mississippi River at Burlington, Iowa to Monmouth, Illinois
and a junction with Highway 67 and then 1-74 crossing the Heart of Illinois, is
critical to the ever increasing traffic flow and the economic health and
development of West Central Illinois.
Logic points to the last leg of US Highway 34 between the “Avenue of the Saints” in Iowa and 1-74 in Illinois! !
The Warren County Board is, and
will remain a solid backer of the program started 36 years ago. You may never
know how much the persistence and effort of Highway 34 Coalition. is
appreciated!
Bill Reichow, Chairman
Warren County Board