CHAPTER FIVE TRANSPORTATION INTRODUCTION Transportation planning is commonly equated with the construction of new roadways, the expansion of existing roadways, or other projects which are designed to reduce traffic congestion and to accommodate future increases in automobile demand. Such transportation needs are directly related to the type and intensity of the land uses that develop along roadways, and other developments that are served by the road network. Those roadways located within the Study Area for the Corridor Plan were further examined in terms of access to adjoining properties, future road extensions, future frontage and backage roads, and bicycle and pedestrian facilities. The conclusions presented at the end of this Chapter provide the basis for recommended conditions for development approval and continuing implementation strategies that are contained within Chapter Two – the Recommended Plan. PROJECT DESCRIPTION, LOCATION AND PURPOSE The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is constructing a four-lane, divided highway from a point south of the City of Carthage in Hancock County, Illinois, to the west side of the City of Macomb in McDonough County, Illinois (See Figure 5A). The proposed highway will be designated as Federal Aid Primary Route 315 (FAP 315) and marked as Illinois Route 336 (IL 336). It will generally parallel and replace the existing two-lane U.S. Route 136 (U.S. 136). Having a functional classification of principal arterial highway with partial access control, the proposed highway will be constructed with interchanges at Illinois Route 94 (IL 94) east of Carthage, Illinois Route 61 (IL 61) west of Tennessee, and at U.S. Route 136 west of Macomb. At-grade intersections will be provided at other intersecting roadways that will remain open after construction of IL 336. The project will also include the improvement of U.S. Route 136 west of Macomb as a four-lane divided roadway through the interchange area to County Highway (CH) 18. Between CH 18 and Deere Road, the existing two-lane roadway would be reconstructed as a five-lane roadway providing a continuous left-turn lane. The purpose of FAP 315 is to provide a safer, more efficient highway facility than presently exists in the western Illinois Counties of Hancock and McDonough. Once the Macomb bypass is complete, the highway will serve as the final link in a four-lane highway connecting Macomb, Quincy and Galesburg, and FAP 315 will be a key improvement to the area’s transportation system by providing east-west access between population centers, favorably influencing the economic development of western Illinois. (IDOT Ecological Resources Technical Report, 1996) 5-1 Figure 5A Project Location Map (Source: IDOT Ecological Resources Report, 1996) 5-2 ROADWAY CONDITIONS Construction Status of Illinois 336 The current section of IL 336 that is under construction extends approximately 3.0 miles south of Carthage to 2.0 miles east of Carthage. It is a new four lane expressway with an interchange by Wabash Street east of Carthage and new intersections at C.R. 1400N and C.R. 2100E. The construction project was awarded to W.L. Miller of Hamilton, IL on June 30, 2004 for a cost of $19,961,851. Construction started in September 2004 and the total project is scheduled to be completed by November 1, 2006. The next segment of IL 336 to be completed is between Carthage, IL and Macomb, IL. This new 25 mile segment is scheduled to be completed in 2008 which is three years earlier than currently scheduled according to an article in the Quincy Herald Whig Newspaper (June 26, 2005 edition). The project is estimated to cost approximately $115 million and it is anticipated that the completed highway will bolster economic development opportunities and make it easier for Western Illinois residents to travel to other parts of the state and nation. According to Secretary of Transportation Tim Martin, the project will be split into three major contracts and the work will be done simultaneously, rather than sequentially, in an effort to speed up construction. (See Figure 5B) Existing Road Conditions and Planned Improvements There are two state highways in the Study Area: Buchanan Street (U.S. 136) & Douglas Street (Hwy 94). Both of these roads are surfaced with asphalt, there are no curbs and there are open drainage ditches. U.S. 136 has aggregate shoulders on each side that are wide enough to pull off on but the aggregate shoulders on Hwy 94 are only a few feet wide. The only curbs in the Study Area are located at the intersection of U.S. 136 and Hwy 94 on the south side only. The terrain in the corridor is relatively flat, however, there are numerous locations where horizontal and vertical curves require no passing zones and speed restrictions. The combination of no passing zones and speed restrictions amounts to a total deficient area of 34% to 37% of the existing roadway length. U.S. 136 and IL 94 provide unrestricted access to residences, fields, and commercial sites and they are also intersected by side roads at frequent intervals. Travel speed and safety are affected by the traffic entering and exiting the highway. Travel time is further affected by farm equipment using the highway (IDOT Ecological Resources Technical Report, 1996). U.S. 136 will dead end just east of C.R. 2050E as part of the new highway construction. The majority of existing roads in the Study Area have an oil and chip surface, no curbs, and open drainage ditches. These include C.R. 1400N, C.R. 2100E, C.R. 1980E. Wabash Street is also oil and chip from Douglas Street east to the last 5-3 INSERT FIGURE 5B HERE – 11X17 5-4 home on the north side where it turns to a gravel road. IDOT has a new paved cul de sac planned at this road before the interchange and they will oil and chip the existing gravel portion when they repair the construction traffic damage to the road. C.R. 1550N and C.R. 2050E are gravel roads with open drainage. A portion of C.R. 2050E is being removed between Buchanan Street and C.R. 1450N for the new interchange and it now dead ends just south of the communication tower (See Figure 5C). C.R. 1400N is being constructed east of Hwy 94 to provide access to the existing residence and to the Carthage sewer plant (See Figure 5D). The local oil and chip roads all need to be improved to handle truck traffic. Improvements would include a more substantial aggregate base, asphalt or concrete surface, and larger turning radiuses to accommodate large trucks that would be used to service future commercial or industrial development in the Study Area. There are no high-accident locations in the project corridor; however, two categories of Figure 5C accidents exceed statewide C.R. 2050E Closed at the Interchange averages. These are accidents (Construction Date 7/18/05) involving animals, and accidents involving fixed objects. In the period between 1991 and 1993, accidents involving animals constituted 37 percent of accidents in the corridor, compared with 4.2 percent statewide. This is attributable to the rural nature of the area. Accidents involving fixed objects also exceed statewide averages. This may, in part, be due to the narrow shoulders and foreslopes on the highway. Roadway geometrics, especially in hilly areas with curves, may also Figure 5D account for some fixed-object C.R. 1400N Extended East of Hwy 94 accidents. Examination of the (Construction Date 7/18/05) accident data also revealed two potential wet-pavement cluster sites. Both sites are in the U.S. 136 section from the Hancock/McDonough County Line to Deere Road. These two sites produced three accidents and two accidents, respectively. (A location must have a minimum of two 5-5 wet-pavement accidents per site to be identified as a wet-pavement cluster site.) The third most common accident type in the corridor was rear-end collisions. These were almost entirely limited to the eastern end of the corridor, in the more urban area, where traffic volumes are higher, turning movements are more common, and there is more traffic entering and leaving driveways and side streets. Access restrictions and a five- lane urban highway section in this area could reduce the conflicts. Between 1991 and 1993, there were six accidents classified as sideswipes in the opposite direction, two of these resulting in injuries. One of these accidents occurred in the section of highway between Carthage and the McDonough County line. The remainder occurred in McDonough County between the county line and the eastern project limits. There was one fatal accident in the corridor between 1991 & 1993, resulting from a head-on collision in snowy conditions at the eastern edge of Colchester in McDonough County. Both the head-on and the sideswipes are accidents that might have been avoided on a four-lane divided highway with a grass median (IDOT Ecological Resources Technical Report, 1996). The following county wide crash data was obtained from IDOT’s Division of Traffic Safety Bureau of Safety Data & Data Services. It illustrates that generally the number of crashes and persons killed on roadways in Hancock County have been continually increasing. County Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Statistics For All Roadways 1997 - 2003 HANCOCK COUNTY Persons Persons Year Crashes Killed Injured 1997 235 3 84 1998 266 6 83 1999 263 1 63 2000 513 3 154 2001 513 4 121 2002 536 1 152 2003 548 9 130 MCDONOUGH COUNTY Persons Persons Year Crashes Killed Injured 1997 358 5 122 1998 358 3 116 1999 381 3 105 2000 969 7 225 2001 935 3 231 2002 952 2 251 2003 897 8 194 5-6 EXISTING TRANSIT SERVICE There is no mass transit service available in Carthage currently and there is none planned in the near future.