The City of Bloomington and IDOT present new road plans
Written by WZND Newsroom on March 1, 2024
Image Courtesy of the City of Bloomington
NORMAL, Ill. – The City of Bloomington and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) held an event this week to present upcoming transportation projects impacting the community.
The presentation was held on Feb. 26 and was open to the public for viewing. The informative session provided residents with a look at upcoming projects.
Director of Operations and Engineering of Bloomington Kevin Kothe spoke about the new developments announced during the event.
“Starting on the westside of Bloomington, they will end up redoing all Route 9 through the city, including parts of Market, Hinshaw, Locust and Empire,” he said. “The Illinois Department of Transportation will be investing quite a bit of money to Bloomington, in terms of the state routes in Bloomington.”
They received a $52 million USDOT grant for the Route 9 project. The additional federal government funding will help move the Route 9 project along quicker than initially planned.
“This is very important because the road isn’t in great shape anymore,” Kothe said. “They will actually be reconstructing some sections because of its severe damage.”
Kothe mentioned that as they begin to do projects, they will also improve accessibility for bikes and pedestrians. Currently, the section of Route 9 on Empire St. from E Towanda Ave has no sidewalk.
“As a part of their improvements, they’re going to add a side path on the north side, which will be 10 feet wide,” he said.
This will be similar to the Constitution Trail that travels through the twin cities.
The first phase of the project is to start in the spring.
“Some of the other phases of the project will be in 2025, 2026 and 2027,” Kothe said.
Another project announced at the event Monday was the repair of US-51 through the court of Bloomington. The city plans to renovate US-50 as well. The plans will likely be finished within the next 5 or 6 years.
Specific roads affected by these plans can be found on the City of Bloomington’s website.
