Sunday, Jun 28, 2009
Posted on Sun, Jun. 28, 2009
BY SCOTT WUERZ
News-Democrat
Opponents of the construction of the proposed Illinois 158 connector hail the project's omission from a list of Illinois Department of Transportation projects slated to begin by 2015 as a sign that plans are dead.
But IDOT leaders said the Gateway Connector, which would run from south of the Interstate 55-70 interchange near Troy through O'Fallon and Shiloh south to Interstate 255 near Columbia, is still in the works. And they believe the proposed $500 million project is still a high priority because it is needed to handle the area's future growth.
The agency's newest five-year plan, which runs from 2010-15, doesn't budget any money for the highway's planning or construction.
"The project isn't in the budget because there isn't a lot of money to go around right now," said IDOT project manager Candace Sauermann. "This is a long-range project, and those sorts of things lose out to more immediate things when money is tight. But that doesn't mean that couldn't change and it wouldn't get funded next year or the year after that."
Richard Ellerbrake, of the opposition group Stop 158, which has waged a grassroots campaign to derail the 41-mile highway that would loop the east side of the St. Louis metropolitan area similar to how Interstate 270 loops it to the west, said he knows things could change. But the lack of financial support seems to indicate that the project is losing momentum.
He points not only to the lack of funding for the $23.7 million environmental and route study needed before the road can be built but a massive reduction in the amount of money that is put aside to protect the potential highway's corridor.
"Corridor protection funding has been dropped from $600,000 a year to $100,000 a year," Ellerbrake said. "That's a significant change. Of course, the problem is there is still a line item for that. As long as there is a line item, there is still reason to be concerned."
Opponents of the Illinois 158 connector highway said they don't believe the road is needed and that it would destroy tens of thousands of acres of nature and farmland for nothing.
Belleville farmer Joe Knobeloch, who lives at 1270 Section Line Road, said the corn, wheat and bean farm that has been in his family since 1914 would be lost if the connector is built.
"It would take the house and most of the land, wipe it right off the map," Knobeloch said. "They wanted to take it when (MidAmerica St. Louis Airport) was built, but it wasn't for sale then and it isn't for sale now. It can't be replaced."
Knobeloch said he worried about more than his safety when the tornado that severely damaged homes from Shiloh to Mascoutah struck earlier this month.
"When you're in the protected corridor, you can't make any improvements and you have to ask for permission to make any repairs," Knobeloch said. "If the house would have been torn up, I worried that I might not have been allowed to fix it."
Neighbor Tom Renner said the proposed highway would cut through the middle of the farm where his family has grown corn and beans for six generations.
"It would basically destroy our way of life," Renner said. "I don't know what to think because you know you can't fight city hall. But they're supposed to be protecting the corridor, and when I told them I wanted to build a new building right in the middle of where the road is supposed to go, they told me to go ahead because it was going to be at least 20 years before anything happened."
Renner still thinks the road will eventually go through, however.
"They say they don't have enough money, but what difference does that make?" Renner asked. "When they run out, they just print some more."
While she believes the Illinois 158 connector will eventually be built, Sauermann said she agrees it is unlikely it would happen anytime soon.
"If the money became available today, the soonest that you would see dirt moving would be eight to 10 years from now," Sauermann said. "It's a long process to do the environmental and design work. It could be 20 years before the road is ready to be driven on."
Proponents said the new road would spur development in the metro-east because the Missouri side of the river is built out, and people who want to build new homes or open new businesses simply can't find room for them. But economic expert Juli Niemann, of Smith, Moore and Co. in St. Louis, said she doesn't think there is a need.
"The population in the region isn't growing," Niemann said. "Things shift around a little bit and then a new place becomes the hot area for a while. But then something else comes along. There isn't a lot of demand for expansion."
While Stop 158 points to reports from the Sierra Club that the road would increase pollution and disturb wildlife in rural areas, Sauermann said the road would have a positive effect on the environment and air quality.
"This road is important because if you don't have this corridor, it will put a tremendous strain on the existing infrastructure," Sauermann said. "Increasing congestion is going to increase air pollution and commute times as people sit stuck in traffic. Existing roads will have to be improved and widened, which could cause hundreds of homes and businesses to be affected.
"The proposed connector route is relatively open and would be relatively low impact," Sauermann said. "But it's hard for people to envision because they don't see the need today. We need to, no pun intended, look down the road 20 years."
Knobeloch said urban growth is destroying the traditional farming lifestyle that built this region.
"I hope, if it happens, that it doesn't happen for 140 or 150 years," Knobeloch said. "This (growth), it's like a cancer."
While Ellerbrake hopes the tide is turning, he said the battle against the 158 connector is far from over.
"Once a project gets on IDOT's to-do list, they don't like to take it off," Ellerbrake said. "Just because it's not funded now doesn't mean they have given up on it. But we hope it means they are starting to think reasonably and they realize we don't need or want it."
Contact reporter Scott Wuerz at swuerz@bnd.com or 239-2626.