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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, From east to west and west to east, United States
3Highway 50 connects the country from coast to coast, stretching
4from Ocean City, Maryland, to Sacramento, California, passing
5through cities across the country including Washington D.C.,
6Cincinnati, St. Louis, Kansas City, Carson City, and Lake
7Tahoe; and
 
8    WHEREAS, In Illinois, US Highway 50 runs 165.79 miles east
9to west across the southern portion of the State, between
10Interstate 70 to the north and Interstate 64 to the south;
11except for interchanges and a small section near the Indiana
12border, the Illinois Section of US Highway 50 is only 2-lanes;
13and
 
14    WHEREAS, In order for a community to realize its maximum
15opportunity for economic development, it must have a direct,
16safe, and efficient connection to the potential markets in the
17surrounding area; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The State of Illinois Department of
19Transportation is responsible for planning and designing safe
20access to US Highway 50; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Phase I engineering studies were completed for US

 

 

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1Route 50 from Lebanon to the Indiana state line between the
2years of 1969 and 1973, and the Illinois Department of
3Transportation also funded a feasibility study in 2007 to
4identify the requirements and cost of upgrading to a 4-lane
5highway; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The feasibility study was completed and approved
7by the Illinois Department of Transportation in 2008 and
8declared a feasible expansion project; the funding of
9$5,000,000 for the Phase I study was secured in 2009 in the
10Capital Bill; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Transportation signed
12the Phase I Environmental Energy Study Contract for $3.6
13million in July 2011, with the remaining $1.4 million
14designated for design engineering of this corridor; and
 
15    WHEREAS, The Illinois Route 50 Coalition was first created
16in 2006 to support the expiation of Route 50 as a means to
17provide economic development to an area of Illinois that has
18suffered population loss in the past decade; and
 
19    WHEREAS, There is no better route from St. Louis to
20Cincinnati than the US Route 50 Highway which will revive rural
21communities and provide economic growth; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The communities of Lawrence, Richland, Clay,
2Marion, Clinton and St. Clair Counties, and the communities of
3Lawrenceville, Bridgeport, Sumner, Olney, Noble, Clay, Xenia,
4Iuka, Salem, Centralia, Hoffman, Carlyle, Beckemeyer, Breese,
5Aviston, Trenton, and Summerfield are in strong favor of the
6expansion, and completing the engineering study so the project
7can begin as soon as funds become available; and
 
8    WHEREAS, It is in the best interest of the State to pursue
9efforts to improve or extend the Route 50 Four-Lane Expansion
10Project between the Indiana state line and connecting with
11Interstate 64 in Illinois; therefore, be it
 
12    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
13NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
14SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we encourage State and federal
15officials to provide funding for this important project as soon
16as it becomes available; and be it further
 
17    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
18presented to the Illinois Secretary of Transportation, the
19United States Secretary of Transportation, Governor Quinn, to
20each member of the Illinois Congressional delegation, and to
21the President of the United States, Barack Obama.