Residents brace for 'monster'
expansion of Illinois 158
nlovelady@bnd.com
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Lew
Haines does not want to lose the sense of openness and privacy of his property
to a planned 37-mile highway corridor.
The
slushy sound of Lew Haines' boots skimming across the leaf-covered grass is the
only sound that can be heard on a Friday afternoon.
Walking
over to a fence, Haines rubs the head of his horse Concierto, who curiously
pokes his black head over the post.
Haines,
62, is relaxed by the sighs that are coming from his 29 horses, and the work it
takes to maintain them.
For
the last eight years, Haines, who raises horses, has become attached to the
serenity and calmness that surrounds his 268-acre farm in rural Troy. But that
may soon end.
The
Illinois Department of Transportation is in the process of establishing a
37-mile long, 400-foot-wide corridor that will extend from Columbia to Troy.
Haines
is concerned because part of his property on Lebanon Road in Troy, lies in the
path of the corridor.
Haines
bought the farm eight years ago. The previous owner was the father of Haines'
wife, Annette Haines. The land had been in her family for three generations.
The
farm has lakes, streams and a home that was built in the 1850s.
"There's
one of those magic trees," said Lew Haines who points to a tree with two
wooden chairs under it.
"When
the leaves are all grown, you can sit under it and feel the coolest
breeze."
Haines
said he and his wife moved to Troy from Edwardsville so their ears would not
have to compete with the noises of city life.
"Town
living is town living," said Haines. "Here, you have that sense of
privacy and openness, and I don't want to loose that."
The
state transportation department plans to reserve the corridor for future
transportation projects, said Candace Sauermann, project coordinator.
The
corridor would provide the space for an outer belt extending Illinois 158 from
Columbia to Troy.
"This
is not something that is needed two or three years from now," said
Sauermann. "This is for growth that will occur over the next 20 to 25
years."
According
to a survey done by the East-West Gateway Coordinating Council for the state
transportation department, Madison, St. Clair and Monroe counties are expected
to have a combined population increase of 59,650 over the next 25 years.
This
increase is expected to have an adverse effect on the average daily traffic on
county roadways:
• Interstate 64 daily traffic to
increase by 81 percent.
• Illinois 158 daily traffic to
increase by 86 percent.
• Illinois 159 daily traffic to
increase by 71 percent.
Richard
Ellerbrake, member of the Stop 158, the organization opposed to the corridor,
questions the state's predictions. He said the predicted population increase is
extreme considering the population growth over the last 20 years.
According
to statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau, the population for the three counties
in 1980 was 535,312. In 2002, the census recorded 548,371, a gain of 13,059 in
22 years.
Ellerbrake
said everyone who lives in the rural areas he has spoken with does not want
this, but the state transportation department will not listen.
"Their
reports are based on a problem that does not and will not exist," said
Ellerbrake. "People who love to build roads, build roads. And that's the
monster."