IDOT's about-face on I-74 overpass prompts outcry

Feb. 29—ST. JOSEPH — Local officials, community leaders and even federal legislators hope to convince the Illinois Department of Transportation to rethink its plan to remove the Champaign County Road 2000 East bridge over Interstate 74.

According to a project list from IDOT, the overpass bridge is slated for removal, with an estimated cost of $1.75 million. Region 3 engineer Kensil Garnett told The News-Gazette that while the department had previously planned to replace it, they now plan to "remove remaining piers and abutments of the existing structure." The project is included in the FY25-FY29 portion of IDOT's current Multi-Year Improvement Program.

"A feasibility study was conducted, and it showed that the structure could be removed without any major impacts to the surrounding area," he said.

However, a variety of stakeholders have called on the state to replace the bridge instead, including U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, county officials, the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce, the Champaign County Farm Bureau and the St. Joseph-Stanton Fire Protection District.

Miller, Budzinski and Kelly wrote a letter to Illinois Secretary of Transportation Omer Osman in February and requested that IDOT prioritize replacing the overpass.

"It's critical that the needs of our rural communities are prioritized at every level of government," Budzinski told The News-Gazette. "I'm deeply concerned by a planned overpass closure on CR 2000E and the impact it would have on folks living in St. Joseph and the surrounding area. I've joined colleagues on both sides of the aisle in urging the Illinois Department of Transportation to change course and preserve this important interstate crossing for family farmers, emergency responders and commuters."

IDOT announced in early 2021 that the bridge would be closed indefinitely after it was damaged by an oversized load. At the time, IDOT spokesman Paul Wappel stated that the closure would be in effect until the bridge was replaced, which he said could take a couple of years.

In January of 2023, Garnett told The News-Gazette that the agency had decided to remove the bridge's breams and deck and had "no plans to replace this bridge in the foreseeable future."

He said on Thursday that a feasibility report was prepared for the project in November of 2022, and public outreach to property owners and officials was also conducted as part of the process, though County Executive Steve Summers questioned whether the department's outreach was sufficient.

The cost of replacing the bridge would be $4 million to $5 million, Garnett said. He added that the cost of upkeep and the number of vehicles that cross the structure were also taken into account by the department.

"The annualized cost of replacement significantly exceeded the annualized costs of removal and adverse travel," he said.

However, local officials and community members remain concerned about the potential impacts of removing the overpass.

This includes the Champaign County Farm Bureau, said manager Bailey Conrady.

She explained that many farmers in the area used Champaign County Road 2000 East as a way to cross I-74 "when moving from field to field." Consequently, its closure leads to increased traffic on U.S. 150 and Champaign County Road 1900 East.

"This inevitably leads to more interaction between normal traffic and large farm implements, which could create a safety hazard as people not used to driving around slow-moving farm equipment encounter it more often," Conrady said.

She added that the closure also impacts farmers delivering grain to the Fulls Siding elevator, increasing their time on the road and fuel costs.

Champaign County Chamber of Commerce President Laura Weis also noted that continued closure of the overpass could have an impact on the quality of surrounding roadways.

"Until the closure of the overpass, farmers would utilize this route rather than taking heavy farming equipment over roads not designed to manage the influx of weight," she wrote in a letter of support. "These roads may deteriorate more quickly, increasing maintenance and repair costs."

Furthermore, Josh Reese, fire chief for the St. Joseph-Stanton Fire Protection District, said that the lack of access to the overpass increases response time by about two to four minutes, and this affects not only when they arrive on a scene but also their ability to fight fires.

"If we were to have a house fire north of 74 there, we have to haul water out to the country," he explained. "And to refill our tankers, we normally come back down to 150, which has hydrants along there. Well, we'd have to detour around that bridge again going one direction or another to get back to 150 to get the hydrants to refill our tankers to get back to the fire."

He added that some of the nearby roads are prone to flooding.

Summers said that he became aware of the overpass issue when he took office in December of 2022 and brought it to the Champaign County Board, who unanimously passed a resolution encouraging IDOT to replace the bridge.

He later met with other elected officials, including Budzinski and state Sen. Paul Faraci.

"When I ran for county executive, I didn't think I'd be trying to work with IDOT to rebuild a bridge that they already said they were going to rebuild, but I'm just trying to build a strong case in the hopes that they'll change their minds, because it will have a significant impact," Summers said.

When asked about community members' concerns, Garnett replied, "With overpass bridges located just one mile west and two miles east of this bridge, users will have multiple alternate routes available to them, likely with very little additional travel. U.S. Route 150 has increased shoulder width which will handle the wider loads for the farmers. We have not seen an increase in accidents in the area since the bridge has been closed."

While the Champaign County Road 2000 East overpass is slated for removal, IDOT announced earlier this week that it is beginning a project to replace the County Highway 17 bridge over I-57 east of Sadorus in Champaign County.

"This work will require full closure of CH 17 over I-57 and reduce I-57 to one lane in each direction through December 2025," department officials said in a release. "Intermittent full nighttime closures of I-57 also will be necessary."