Committee approves Hutchinson Engineering agreement to advance Route 66 bike trail design

McLean County’s Land Use & Transportation Committee unanimously approved an engineering-services agreement May 5 with Hutchinson Engineering Inc. to complete phase 1 and phase 2 work on the Route 66 bike trail, a roughly nine-mile corridor stretching from north of Towanda to the Livingston County line.

Jerry Stokes, speaking for the highway department, said phase 1 will complete environmental work and clearances while phase 2 will deliver detailed design plans. The work is intended to position the county to apply for Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP) funds once design and project-development reports are complete.

Stokes told the committee that the engineering agreement will be funded through an IDOT local road funding program the county won last year; that program will cover 100% of the engineering phase costs, he said, so local municipalities along the corridor should have no direct cost for this phase.

The county anticipates phasing design into multiple sections to ease funding and delivery, with preliminary expectations that obtaining approvals and completing design will take two to three years before construction funding is pursued. Committee members asked about timing, potential celebratory outreach tied to Route 66’s centennial and where signage or “coming soon” markers might be placed to inform the public.

The committee voted unanimously to approve the agreement and move the project forward to design and environmental review.