Business U.S. 51 public meeting scheduled for Oct. 16

DECATUR – The Illinois Department of Transportation announced today that a third public meeting will be held Wednesday, Oct. 16, on a proposed project to improve Business U.S. 51 (Water and Main streets) from U.S. 36 (Eldorado Street) to Illinois 48/121 (Pershing Road). ​ ​

For the past several years, IDOT has worked in conjunction with the city of Decatur to develop a plan for the conversion and beautification of the surrounding area of Business U.S. 51. The purpose of the meeting is for the public to provide input on this final plan. Attendees will be able to learn more about the project through the exhibits, displays and fact sheets that will be available at the meeting. IDOT staff and consultants will be available to discuss the project and answer questions. There will be no formal presentation. All interested parties are encouraged to attend:

Wednesday, Oct. 16
​4-7 p.m. ​
​Main Street Church of the Living God
​2000 N. Main St., Decatur ​

Decline in use of the Business U.S. 51 corridor has occurred over the recent years for multiple reasons: The re-routing of U.S. 51 to the west Decatur bypass, population decline, re-positioning of truck nodes to the east side of the city and the prohibition of through traffic of semis in the central business district. 

Because of this, conversion of the northbound Business U.S. 51 corridor to three lanes gives opportunities to re-purpose segments of the existing corridor to provide for safer pedestrian transportation and improve the streetscape by increasing the greenspace within the corridor.

For more information on the project, please click here. Construction is anticipated to start in spring 2025. Comments may be submitted at the meeting or mailed to:

Illinois Department of Transportation, District 7
​400 W. Wabash Ave.
​Effingham, IL 62401Attn: Matt Bower, Plans Project Engineer

For IDOT District 7 updates, follow us on Twitter at @IDOTDistrict7 or view area construction details on IDOT’s traveler information map on GettingAroundIllinois.com.

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