The Schedule
The City has started the preliminary engineering for the project. This part of the process is sometimes called "Phase I Engineering", or the "Study and Report Phase".
Download the Project Timeline illustration here.
In order to better understand this part of the engineering work, you might think of taking a long trip: The first step would be to get a map and find your present location on the map. Then, you would find your destination on the map and trace all the different routes you might take to reach your destination. You will eventually choose one route that will get you to your destination. You may choose the route that is the fastest, or cheapest, or has the best scenery. You may also choose not to take the trip because it costs too much, or for some other reason that is important to you.
Just like planning a trip, the preliminary engineering for this project will need a map. The map that the engineering team will use are the requirements and procedures that have been established by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). In a simplified example, the process can take the form of answering a series of questions:
Progress to Date
The team has involved community leaders and the public to determine the purpose for the project, based on the needs of the community. This has been done through coordination with local leaders and informational meetings for the public, and has provided a basis to offer input for project consideration.
Current Project Status
The project team has made baseline surveys of the project study area including taking traffic counts, topographic survey, and submitting requests to IDOT to perform environmental surveys. This baseline data has been used to identify deficiencies in the system.
A range of alternatives have been developed, including a "no-build" alternative. The potential impacts of each of the alternatives have been studied. Potential impacts include environmental impacts of the construction itself and of the automobile traffic through the corridor, impacts on cultural and historical sites, and cost impacts of the project.
Are we there yet?
A single preferred alternative have been selected from the range of alternates that were identified and studied. This alternative is presented to the public in the EA (Environmental Assessment). The public will be allowed to make comments on the preferred alternate and the preliminary engineering process at the December 15 Public Hearing. Comments obtained at this public hearing will be incorporated into the Design Report and the report will be submitted to IDOT and FHWA for design approval. The public hearing scheduled for December 15 is regarding the EA and Section 4(f) evaluation.
About Section 4(f)
A Section 4(f) Evaluation is performed when a transportation project proposes to use publicly owned land of a public park, recreation area, or wildlife and waterfowl refuge of national, state, or local significance, or land of an historic site of national, state or local significance. For more information about Section 4(f), see the USDOT website.
