[DEC. 22, 2005] "All able
bodied men from every household in the county between the ages of 21
and 50 are asked to register to work five days of the year on a
township road,” so a letter from the mid-1800’s reads when
infrastructure for the county was rapidly under construction.
Historian Paul Gleason had this letter and numerous
other documents that record the early history of Logan County on
display during the Logan County Courthouse Centennial open house.
Road development today
Well, how the work gets done may have changed a bit from days of
old, but the need for residential and business transportation
remains the same and is at the top of every community’s development
list.
That may be especially so for Logan County given our great central
location in Illinois, in the U.S. and in proximity of numerous great
Interstate routes, I-55, I-74, I-39, I-155, I-72 and I-57. Residents
answering the Comprehensive Plan questionnaire said that the number
one thing that Logan County has going for it is our location.
The city of Lincoln and the Logan County continue to focus for
further development and renovation of streets, as well as sewers and
drainage.
The primary shared focus is on the Fifth Street road renovation. The
city responsibilities on Fifth Street have gradually expanded from
old Route 66 and now extend to the I-55 overpass. The city is
planning to widen the roadway and add lanes at intersections to
support the increase in housing and building developments to the
west.
The county obligation on Fifth Street is shared and picks up singly
at I-55 to run to the Middletown blacktop.
Together the city and county are seeking state and federal
transportation/economic development related funds to support the
larger percentage of the cost for the street’s renovation.
The county has plans in place to improve other roads in the county
important to business transportation over the next two years.
A Mount Pulaski Township bridge project
on 1400th Ave. was approved by the road and bridge committee at
their Dec. meeting. The project was stalled in 1993 over
right-of-way concerns that have now been resolved. The project cost
of $138,000 is an 80/20 split under the Township Bridge Program.
Another project that was delayed over right-of-way issues will also
be done in 2006. The county is prepared to offer $350 for a piece of
land at an intersection of the Mount Pulaski/Elkhart blacktop,
County Highway 10, if needed.
Plans to renovate the historic Elkhart Historic Bridge are
completed. However, ownership legalities are still not in order.
The county is being asked to take over Orville Township’s ownership
of 2300th St. from 800th Ave. to I-155 for the ethanol plant to
built on 800th St. This would entail the county taking over the
section from the east edge of Hartsburg going west to I-155.
The section from the east to 800th Ave. would need to be brought up
to county highway code and the section from 800th Ave to the highway
would need to be a class 3, allowing for weight limits of 80,000
pounds.
Discussions on this project are in the early stages and the county
would have a couple of years before the work would need to be
completed.
