The McLean County Farm Bureau is expressing disappointment with the redesigned intersection of College Avenue and Rivian Motorway, also known as Route 150. The project is currently under construction.
Right now, it's a T-intersection, although the intersection is closed this season. Rivian is extending facilities to the west of Route 150, which will make College Avenue a four-way intersection. Instead of a signals, there will be a roundabout.
Farmers have used Rivian Motorway by preference over some township roads. McLean County Farm Bureau Director Anna Ziegler said it offers advantages over some township roads.
“It has hard shoulders, and it has a second lane both directions. So, if a piece of farm equipment is on that road, it's easier for a passenger vehicle to get around them than on a township road,” said Ziegler.
She said a roundabout may prevent farm equipment from using that section of Rivian Motorway during the crucial planting and harvesting seasons. She said farmers may have to divert to Old Peoria Road or County Road 975 as the closest suitable roads to the west, adding the closest road rated to take 80,000-pound traffic is six miles west and goes through Danvers.
“It all depends on where their field locations [are] at and where they're trying to go. If it's an 80-acre field in corn, that's probably around 25 semi loads that they need to take off that field. Every trip, if they have to go a mile out of the way, that's 25 extra miles,” said Ziegler.
She also said that extra traffic means more wear and tear on township roads. Non-farm semi tractor trailers also will be using Rivian Motorway as part of logistics service for Rivian.
“The roundabout is designed for interstate semi-trucks and has mountable medians for oversize vehicles, but the design accounts for keeping smaller vehicles at a controlled speed to ensure safety,” said Paul Wappel, a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Transportation [IDOT].
But Ziegler said that extended approach to the circle and wider turning radius allowed by “truck aprons” may still not be wide enough for farm equipment. A combine, for instance, is 17 feet wide. She said it’s possible combines would have to creep into the middle to navigate the circle.
“And so that means lane width. It also means what types of curbs are there along the lanes. If it narrower than 17 feet, can the equipment go up on the curb safely? It’s a safety question. Also are you going to damage tires or degrade the curb over time,” said Ziegler.
Roundabouts also tend to have significant signage, she said, to help drivers decide where to move off the circle. She questioned whether farm equipment would scrape the signs.
“A signalized intersection was considered but required additional turn lanes, extensive turn lane lengths and would still not perform as well as the roundabout” said Wappel.
And while the roundabout itself may be able to handle truck traffic, the approach lanes are designed to be narrower to slow traffic both for a crosswalk and for vehicles entering the roundabout. Ziegler questioned whether extended length vehicles such as a tractor hauling a planter will be able to safely enter the circle.
“It's those approach lanes that we're most concerned about, and the turning radius from the approach lane into the circle,” she said.
Route 150 gets a lot of traffic and IDOT said that is a key reason for the circle.
“The roundabout design was chosen as an alternative intersection design to handle the heavy peak-hour traffic that is expected by typical U.S. 150 traffic as well as the Rivian employee shift traffic,” said Wappel.
Ziegler said the farm bureau has consulted with area lawmakers of both major parties, but IDOT said it is too late to change.
“The design has been finalized, coordinated with the Town of Normal, the permit was issued by the Illinois Department of Transportation, and the roadway is currently under construction by the Rivian contractor,” said Wappel.
Ziegler also urged caution during this harvest season because the intersection is closed for construction. That has pushed non-farm vehicles onto township toads as well.
“We've had farmers call with concerns about vehicles driving down those roads at higher rates of speed than is a good idea based on the type of road. Those roads are not striped. Sometimes drivers that aren't familiar with using a township road might drift to the middle, and especially on some roads in that area, we have some hills and curves that make visibility a little bit more limited, and that's a big concern when we've got farm equipment out there moving at a slower rate of speed,” she said.
Ziegler said the public needs to be aware the redesigned intersection will be “a major change on a major route in town.”
Rivian also is constructing an underpass to Route 150 so it can avoid adding to traffic as it takes vehicles and materials to and from its facilities on either side of the motorway.
