HJ0086 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0086 LRB097 21330 KXB 69149 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, From east to west and west to east, United States Highway 50 connects the country from coast to coast, stretching from Ocean City, Maryland, to Sacramento, California, passing through cities across the country including Washington D.C., Cincinnati, St. Louis, Kansas City, Carson City, and Lake Tahoe; and

WHEREAS, In Illinois, US Highway 50 runs 165.79 miles east to west across the southern portion of the State, between Interstate 70 to the north and Interstate 64 to the south; except for interchanges and a small section near the Indiana border, the Illinois Section of US Highway 50 is only 2-lanes; and

WHEREAS, In order for a community to realize its maximum opportunity for economic development, it must have a direct, safe, and efficient connection to the potential markets in the surrounding area; and

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois Department of Transportation is responsible for planning and designing safe access to US Highway 50; and

WHEREAS, Phase I engineering studies were completed for US Route 50 from Lebanon to the Indiana state line between the years of 1969 and 1973, and the Illinois Department of Transportation also funded a feasibility study in 2007 to identify the requirements and cost of upgrading to a 4-lane highway; and

WHEREAS, The feasibility study was completed and approved by the Illinois Department of Transportation in 2008 and declared a feasible expansion project; the funding of $5,000,000 for the Phase I study was secured in 2009 in the Capital Bill; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Transportation signed the Phase I Environmental Energy Study Contract for $3.6 million in July 2011, with the remaining $1.4 million designated for design engineering of this corridor; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Route 50 Coalition was first created in 2006 to support the expiation of Route 50 as a means to provide economic development to an area of Illinois that has suffered population loss in the past decade; and

WHEREAS, There is no better route from St. Louis to Cincinnati than the US Route 50 Highway which will revive rural communities and provide economic growth; and

WHEREAS, The communities of Lawrence, Richland, Clay, Marion, Clinton and St. Clair Counties, and the communities of Lawrenceville, Bridgeport, Sumner, Olney, Noble, Clay, Xenia, Iuka, Salem, Centralia, Hoffman, Carlyle, Beckemeyer, Breese, Aviston, Trenton, and Summerfield are in strong favor of the expansion, and completing the engineering study so the project can begin as soon as funds become available; and

WHEREAS, It is in the best interest of the State to pursue efforts to improve or extend the Route 50 Four-Lane Expansion Project between the Indiana state line and connecting with Interstate 64 in Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we encourage State and federal officials to provide funding for this important project as soon as it becomes available; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to the Illinois Secretary of Transportation, the United States Secretary of Transportation, Governor Quinn, to each member of the Illinois Congressional delegation, and to the President of the United States, Barack Obama.