Project Status

The designation of Olympian Drive as the top transportation project for Champaign County was the result of a comprehensive review of all proposed Champaign County transportation improvements coordinated by the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission and the input of a wide variety of stakeholders. The Cities of Champaign and Urbana, Village of Savoy ,Village of Rantoul have also agreed that this project is the top transportation priority for Champaign County, as have the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce, the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation, Urbana School District Unit 116, Champaign School District Unit 4, The Atkins Group, Illinois American Water and the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission, among others.

The completion of Olympian Drive is consistent with the City of Urbana and the City of Champaign Comprehensive Plans. Millions of dollars have already been spent completing the required studies and plans, constructing portions of the project and extending utilities into the project area.

The Location/Design Study completed in 1997 explored various alternatives for the actual location of Olympian Drive. During the completion of the Location/Design Study, the public involvement process consisted of four project newsletters, two public informational meetings, and one public hearing. The public was involved in all the stages of the project. The now designated alignment received the most public support of the 10 alternatives considered, including the no-build option. Future stages of the project will follow the same public engagement process. During the completion of the Location/Design Study, all possible impacts of Olympian Drive were evaluated by the State and Federal agencies and were determined to be in compliance with all federal and state regulations. As a result Olympian Drive has been approved by the Federal Highway Administration as eligible for federal funds.

Portions of Olympian Drive have already been completed. In 2002/2003 the section between Mattis Avenue and Apollo Drive was completed at a total cost of about $7.6 million. In 2007/2008 Olympian Drive was extended westerly approximately 0.75 miles from Mattis Avenue toward Duncan Road at a cost of about $3.5 million.

The current estimated cost of completing this project is $27,542,000. Approximately $16 million is for a bridge over the railroad and approximately $2 million is for a bridge over the Saline Branch. To date there is $19.6 million identified for this project. Included in this amount is $2.5 million in local funding with the balance coming from state and federal funds. There is currently $5 million in state funding available to complete final design and engineering for the project. These funds need to be committed by June 30, 2010 or it may be lost. Contract negotiations are currently underway between the City of Urbana, the lead agency on this project and engineering firms to begin design and engineering work as soon as possible.

The state and federal funding already in place, and that which is expected to be available from the upcoming federal transportation funding legislation, comes from motor fuel taxes that we all pay every time we purchase fuel and should not contribute to budget deficits. Since we all pay these taxes it only seems right that some of it should come back to Champaign County.

Completion of this project will require 102 acres of land, most of which is currently farmed, from 7 different property owners. Five of these land owners have indicated their willingness to sell land for this roadway. No buildings or homes will be taken for the roadway.