Illinois landowners get notice of where road will go
BY RICK PIERCE
Of the Post-Dispatch 03/21/2005

The Illinois Department of Transportation has begun placing deed restrictions on property along the route of the proposed Gateway Connector, a 41-mile stretch of highway that would link Troy and Columbia.

The deed restrictions will require that the 300 or so property owners along the stretch get state permission before improving their property. A copy of the state's corridor protection law will be attached to their deeds, said Candace Sauermann, who is overseeing the project for the Department of Transportation

Owners are being notified by certified mail that the road corridor would pass through their property.

"We're sure when the letters go out, there will be a flood of concern," Sauermann said.

Maps showing the proposed route are being filed with deed recorders in Madison, Monroe and St. Clair counties.

Transportation officials have 45 days to either give their approval to any improvements or announce plans to purchase the property after a landowner contacts them about changes to a particular piece of property.

The Gateway Connector, sometimes called the "outer belt," would extend south of the Interstate 55-70 interchange near Troy, then roughly follow Troy O'Fallon Road, known as the Scott Troy Road in St. Clair County. The proposed corridor for the road then continues south and makes a gradual turn to the west. Eventually, the road would connect with Interstate 255 near Columbia.

For most owners, the news of the deed restrictions comes as no surprise. The Department of Transportation has held a series of public meetings to discuss the project. An opposition group, known as Stop 158, was formed because the route had been expected to pick up Illinois Route 158 part of the way.

"We're not discouraged at this point," said Stop 158's spokesman, the Rev. Richard Ellerbrake, a retired minister who lives along the route proposed by the state.

Recently, the United Congregations of Metro East, an activist group of churches, also announced its opposition to the highway. Both groups have indicated that they believe the highway will contribute to suburban sprawl.

Supporters of the highway have said that the subdivisions will be built either way, but setting aside room for a future highway will help keep the ultimate cost of the highway down.

Although the planned corridor of the highway is now under the state's protection, there is no guarantee the road will be built. The biggest factor is the cost. Even if the corridor is set aside today, the price of a four-lane highway built to interstate standards could hit $500 million.

For more information about the project, call the Department of Transportation at 618-346-3100, or go to gatewayconnector.com. Stop 158's Web site is stop158.org.

Reporter Rick Pierce
E-mail: rpierce@post-dispatch.com
Phone: 618-659-3628