Freeway Harms Agriculture and Tourism

Proposal and savings
Deny funding for the proposed U.S. Route 20 Freeway. The freeway would cost approximately $350 million — 80 percent federally funded.

Background
The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) originally examined modernizing the existing U.S. 20 in 1963 but abandoned the plan in 1969 due to a reorganization of funding priorities and changes in federal environmental regulation. With the passage of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act in 1991, the study was resumed and a proposal called for a new road to be built, leaving the old highway as is. The purpose of this proposed new roadway would be to provide access to interstate routes and improve east-west traffic service.

Status
The Freeway Watch Committee, along with its engineer, has recommended expanding the existing U.S. 20 into a four-lane expressway which would destroy less land and cost less money than the larger proposed freeway. IDOT is currently considering two freeway routes, in addition to the expressway and no-build options. IDOT will announce its preferred alternative in spring 2000.

Problems with the Project

Taxpayer Concerns
More cost-effective alternatives exist. The Freeway Watch Committee’s alternative plan for a four-lane expressway would upgrade and expand the existing U.S. 20, which is in need of repair. The freeway proposal would require costly interchanges covering 60 to 70 acres of land each while interchanges for an expressway would require a much smaller amount of land, if even necessary.

Local Community Concerns
The proposed freeway would not solve the safety problems associated with the current U.S. 20 and would strain the already overloaded law enforcement and emergency service systems. Although parallel to the existing U.S. Route 20, the freeway would not serve local traffic and would bypass town centers. The proposed building routes would use 100 percent new land, adversely affecting both agriculture and tourism, the two leading industries in the area. One of the proposed freeway routes threatens a 6,800 acre resort and development in Galena Territory.

Environmental Concerns
Both of the proposed freeway routes would destroy prairies, farmland, forests and wetlands. Runoff from a large freeway would pollute local watersheds including Lake Galena. The Natural History Survey found that plants and animals from approximately eight different endangered species would be harmed by the freeway as well.

Contacts
Nancy Stoneburner, Freeway Watch Committee, (815) 591-2269.