BY KIM LUTTRELL
DANVILLE — A team representing Hanson Engineering of Springfield dusted off the decade old Danville Beltline plan and presented it again to the city council Tuesday night.
The Danville Beltline first came to light in 1997 and went through a series of public hearings and subsequent refinements until a final route was proposed in 1999.
The Beltline would divert Illinois Route 1 traffic north of Danville to the east beginning at West Newell Road along the east side of the city to a new interchange on Interstate 74 between existing interchanges at Lynch Road and Bowman Avenue. The idea of the Beltline is to divert truck traffic around Danville as well as open new large tracts of land for possible development. Much of the new road would be four-lane limited access pavement.
Hanson Engineering has estimated the total cost to be $95 million to $100 million.
While it has long been thought that Danville or the state would never have the resources to fund the project, a recent program in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 — or as it is commonly called, the economic stimulus bill — has a program for Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants.
The TIGER grants are to be used for large regional transportation projects. Their goal is to have a long-term impact, job creation, innovation and partnership between several entities. The entities involved in the Beltline are the city, Illinois Department of Transportation, Vermilion Advantage and the Vermilion County Highway Department.
Hanson and city officials think that a section of the Beltline would meet the criteria of a TIGER grant. They have identified a portion of the Beltline from Voorhees Street north to Poland Road could be built for $25 million to $30 million.
TIGER grants cannot be used for routine street maintenance or repair.
“This particular leg provides the best chance for success,” said Mayor Scott Eisenhauer. “This leg makes the most sense to complete first and opens up the most land for future development.”
A resolution to apply for the grant, which requires no city matching funds, will be presented to the public services committee for approval next Tuesday night. If it passes there, it will be presented to the full council on Sept.1.
The deadline to apply for the grant is Sept. 15 with grants to be awarded in February 2010.
Also Tuesday, council members decided to send the proposed yard waste fee increases and program changes under Option A back to the public works committee for further discussion. The sentiment of the council was to come up with a way to keep the yard waste collection on a weekly basis rather than the proposed bi-weekly summer collection plan that had been proposed.
In other action, council members:
-- Ratified the mayor’s appointment of Donald Laughlin to the Danville Housing Authority with no debate. He replaces Celestine Crockett on the DHA board.
-- Affirmed the decision of the Danville Area Planning and Zoning Commission to deny a request by Darlene Dastous of 21744 Denmark Road to place a manufactured home on her property.
-- Approved the donation of two high-efficiency furnaces from the old city hall to the Your Family Resource Center.
-- Approved the appropriation of Motor Fuel Tax funds for the Voorhees Street Improvement Project Phase I.
-- Approved the appropriation of MFT funds for the repaving of a portion of Jackson Street.
-- Approved the purchase and financing of a five-deck mower for the Harrison Park Golf Course.
-- Approved the purchase of two tracts of property near the corner of Griffin and Vine Streets for relocation of a sanitary sewer line that is suspended from the bridge over Stony Creek.
NEXT UP
The Danville City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Sept. 1 in the Robert E. Jones Municipal Building.
