County approves letter of understanding with IDOT for Towanda overpass deck work; signals to manage 2026 construction

The McLean County Land Use and Transportation Committee on Aug. 5 approved a letter of understanding with the Illinois Department of Transportation to allow a red‑overlay of the Towanda overpass deck (County Highway 29) that carries traffic over Interstate 55 just north of Towanda. County staff told the committee the bridge deck needs the overlay and that IDOT plans a different traffic control approach at Towanda than the Shirley overpass because Towanda carries higher volumes. "They're actually gonna have signals that are gonna be on both sides to allow traffic to pass through there…they're planning on doing this in 2026," a county presenter said. To install the temporary signals, IDOT will remove part of the raised median maintained by the county and restore it after the project is complete; staff said the median work is part of the IDOT agreement. The committee moved and approved the letter of understanding without dissent (motion by Member Leffler; second by Member Abel). The letter of understanding formalizes coordination so the state contractor can work within the county‑maintained median and so traffic can be staged to maintain flow while each side of the overpass receives deck work. No vote tally beyond unanimous passage was recorded in the meeting notes.