Interchange Locations Identified

Providing interchanges for Prairie Parkway access at State and U.S. highways addresses the purpose and need for the Prairie Parkway improvements, and directs traffic to roads that are planned and designed to handle the change in travel patterns created by a new freeway.  The current plan includes interchanges for local access at U.S. 52, IL 47, IL 71, US 34, and U.S. 30. 

Commercial land use exists today along most State and US highways.  The future land use plans for communities along the Prairie Parkway reflect continued commercial land uses along the State and US highways.  State and U.S. highway improvements are being planned through other studies to accommodate commercial land uses and maintain mobility.

Several proposals for additional local access interchanges at locations other than State and U.S. highways have been brought forth, and will likely continue to be brought forth for consideration.  These proposals are in various stages of discussion or implementation at the local level, but are not being considered in the Prairie Parkway Study.  Additional interchanges provide accessibility to the new transportation system,but without local land use control the greater accessibility can result in land use changes different than those that were planned.

The addition of interchanges can also affect safety and congestion levels on the freeway and crossroads.  The Prairie Parkway Study has received a consensus of comment for preserving open spaces and limiting unplanned growth.  While always striving to coordinate land use and transportation, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) does not have the authority to regulate land use.  This authority lies with the local municipalities and counties.  The Corridor Planning Group may serve as a forum for providing cooperative planning of land uses along a new freeway that passes through multiple jurisdictions.  For other interchange proposals that are suggested, the Study team is continuing to encourage regional and local planning to occur within the oversight of the Corridor Planning Group.

If additional local access interchanges are found to be warranted and supported, but not added directly through the Prairie Parkway Study, additions can be proposed to the Federal Highway Administration and IDOT as stand alone studies.  The amount of local coordination and consensus will factor into future decisions for new interchanges.

Potential Road Closures Identified

The Study Team, Corridor Planning Group, and local officials have made an initial recommendation to close several crossroads, rather than provide an overpass of the Prairie Parkway.  These decisions were made primarily by comparing the additional costs to the cross road users to the cost of building an overpass.  A Road Closure Analysis was performed for each crossroad along the B5 Corridor and B2 Corridor.

The cost of a road closure is the increase in cost for road users to travel the additional distance to reach their destination.  These costs are based on the amount of traffic, added detour distance, and operating costs of the vehicles.  The costs of the new overpass include right-of-way and construction costs for building the overpass, including bridges, earthwork, drainage pipes, pavement, guardrail, and landscaping.  

To determine the feasibility of either closing a crossroad or providing an overpass, the road user costs incurred in the case of road closure were compared with the overpass construction costs.  If the road user costs resulting from road closure are less than the overpass costs, then the closure was considered to be cost effective. 

Although cost was a primary factor, consideration was also given to not closing two consecutive crossroads.  This was done to ensure that local road system integrity is maintained without significant changes in travel patterns that could impact road users, school bus routes, emergency services, social services, mail routes, and local businesses. 

The crossroads identified for closure along the B5 corridor are Church Road, Chicago Road, Helmer Road West, Immanuel Road, Helmer Road, South, Schaefer Road, Sears Road, Jones Road, Wheeler Road, and Lasher Road.

The crossroads identified for closure along the B2 straight south corridor are Nelson Road, Hill Road, Apakesha Road, Bushnell School Road, and  Hughes Road.

Feedback from the public is requested on proposed road closures.   Roads that are proposed to be closed will also be the subject of a future road closure hearing.