Positively 5th streetLogan County road project holds hope for bringing wind farm, variety of companies to Lincoln area [Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL)]

Pantagraph_Bloom, 2013-03-04

Since the mid-1990s, leaders in Logan County and the city of Lincoln have discussed, planned, prepared and anticipated the development of a stretch of road in hopes it could open economic development opportunities on the city's west side.

They believe they are closer to their goal, but no one knows when the Fifth Street road project will begin.

"The city has dollars either available or dollars in hand up to the point of construction," said Mayor Keith Snyder. "We have to do some utility relocation and some land acquisition, but we have the funds to do all of that. We are in the process of exploring options for federal funding and, once we can nail that down, we will move forward. Basically, we are trying to get to the point where we are shovel-ready.'"

The area extends west from Lincoln Boulevard to Interstate 55. A wind farm company may be interested in a portion of the area.

"If that were to come through, we could work with the developer to help finish that project," said Logan County engineer Bret Aukamp. "That would be wonderful and would take a big weight off of our shoulders. We've been talking about this project for years."

The road is near several of Lincoln's biggest retail stores, and Robert Sysco Food Service Inc.'s warehouse and distribution center are nearby.

Brian Bergen, executive director of the Lincoln and Logan County Development Partnership, said the estimated cost of the project is $6.6 million. Long-range goals include the development of an industrial park.

"It would be the ideal spot for something like that because of it's proximity to the interstate and there are already a couple of industrial businesses out there with hopes of expanding," he said.

A timetable depends on funding. City Engineer Darren Forgy said the project is included in Lincoln's five-year plan and construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in 2015.

High priority'

"It's a high priority for both the county and the city and we have funding for this project coming in from a variety of places," he said. "But the nice thing is that we have the vast majority of the funds in place."

But as time goes by, the costs keep rising, said Aukamp.

"Everyone is trying to set aside money for the project and yet, if it doesn't get started, you have to get even more money because the project costs increase each year," he said. "It's almost like we fall further and further behind."

A completed project could mean good news for West Lincoln- Broadwell Elementary School.

"It would benefit us in a couple of ways," said Superintendent Bailey Climer. "It would help with our transportation because it would create direct routes to some of the subdivisions in the area. Also, if we could get some new industries in there, it would help our revenue stream."

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