As stated in the ESH Purpose and Need Statement, the purpose of the ESH is to “Provide improved north-south and east-west mobility to and from residential areas and job centers.” The recommended facility type under consideration, a limited access freeway, is anticipated to include interchanges to provide access to and from the ESH and east-west connectivity, at approximately two-mile intervals (per IDOT guidelines) at major crossroads. It is anticipated there will be grade separations allowing east-west connectivity but no access at the other intermediate roads. Specific interchange locations are still being studied.

Three different facility type options were considered for the north-south Build Alternatives: a freeway, an expressway, and an arterial. The freeway option is recommended as the most appropriate facility for the ESH. It is the best option to accommodate future traffic volumes, enhance mobility, provide appropriate access, and reduce crash potential. The freeway consists of four travel lanes and will be a limited access control roadway.

NEPA requires the evaluation of social, economic, and environmental impacts resulting from each alternative. The total impacts resulting from each alternative are calculated and compared. If the longest alternative results in the fewest impacts to the human and natural environment it may be selected as the Preferred Alternative. The impacts per mile do not influence the alternative screening process.

An improvement between Lexington to Leroy was considered but not evaluated in detail because such an alternative does not meet the Purpose & Need of the ESH project. Lexington-Leroy Road is a north-south route located approximately ten miles east of the Bloomington-Normal urban core and approximately five miles east of the eastern boundary of the 2035 Land Use Plan. Based on the analysis of similar alternatives in the 2009 ESH Corridor Report, a Lexington-Leroy Road alternative would not adequately improve access to or mobility on the major roads in the study area and would not accommodate managed growth on the east side due to its distance from the eastern planned growth area. Therefore, an improved Lexington-Leroy Road cannot meet the Purpose & Need of the project.

One goal of the ESH EA is to select a preferred alternative that minimizes community and environmental impacts. Widening Towanda Barnes Road was included in the range of alternatives but results in disproportionately high impacts to residences, commercial buildings, and parks when compared to the other alternatives under consideration. Thus, alternatives using Towanda Barnes Road were eliminated during the Macro Analysis Evaluation.

The EA assesses a full range of transportation improvement Build Alternatives, as well as the No-Build Alternative. Corridors previously studied that meet the Purpose and Need will be re-examined for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other federal and state policies. Other new alternatives not previously considered were identified during the EA process.

The No-Build Alternative assumes that the ESH will not be built. The No-Build Alternative includes all current planned transportation improvements other than the ESH. The No-Build Alternative is included in the ESH study. Although it does not meet the Purpose and Need of the project it is carried through the EA and serves as a baseline for comparison with the Build Alternatives. If, in the course of the EA, all of the remaining alignments are found to have significant environmental impacts that outweigh the No-Build Alternative’s inability to meet the Purpose and Need, the Federal and State resource agencies could select the No-Build Alternative as the Preferred Alternative.

The alternatives are screened based upon numerous environmental impacts and engineering considerations. During the course of the EA, the alternatives are narrowed down through a five-step process. The steps are 1) Initial Screening, 2) Purpose & Need Screening, 3) Macro Analysis, 4) Alignment Analysis, and 5) Environmental Assessment Analysis. You can read more about each step here.

The initial range of alternatives evaluated included 129 north-south Build Alternatives, a No-Build Alternative, a Transportation System Management (TSM)/Travel Demand Management (TDM) Alternative, a transit only alternative, and an east-west only alternative. Read more about the alternatives here.