A Skeptical View of the Peoria to Macomb Expressway


The Highway – Way back in a different economic era (1969) the Illinois State Legislature authorized the construction of a limited-access four-lane highway from Quincy, Illinois to Peoria, Illinois. Justification for the highway was vague; not much more specific than, “We are building more highways so we will have more highways”. This authorization occurred before NAFTA, WTO, Earth Day and the modern environmental movement, and before the beginning of what could be called the “de-industrialization of America”. Changes in the country’s economic, environmental, and social outlooks have reduced the necessity for four-lane highways in many parts of the country, including Western Illinois. Concerns for protection of the environment have increased, and citizens have a better understanding of the environmental degradation that inevitably accompanies new highway construction.

In addition, conservative/libertarian political theorists have advanced the idea that individual property rights must not be limited or “taken” by the government except under conditions of real necessity.
Traffic volume was not and is not currently given as a justification for building the Peoria to Macomb expressway. Large parts of the completed sections of Illinois 336 are little used, and there is no evidence of any great demand for greater east-west traffic-carrying capacity in this part of the state. Although traffic volumes from Canton to Peoria are large enough to warrant study of highway improvements, from Cuba to Macomb, traffic volume averages little more than one vehicle per minute. Existing highways in this area are in good condition and are more than adequate for traffic flows several times larger than currently exist.

Highway boosters regularly trot out “safety” as a reason for building four-lane highways. The idea that Illinois 336 is being built for safety reasons is almost too silly to bother refuting, but it is worth noting that statistics comparing highway safety normally compare interstate highways with all other roads, including one-lane country lanes complete with Friday night drunks. On most of the existing highways between Peoria and Macomb, deer are the greatest hazard; one which will be made much worse by “interstate” speeds.

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