GLEN CARBON - The subject of Old Troy Road improvements has been the source of considerable discussion in recent years.
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With the addition of Father McGivney High School and Cassens Elementary School just off the road, it has created heavy traffic day in, day out. Old Troy Road is also used as a short cut for many going from Troy to Glen Carbon or vice versa. Over time, the road has taken a beating and it is now a rough ride for cars or trucks in either direction.
The Village of Glen Carbon recently entered into an agreement with the Collinsville Township Highway Department for the project and it already had an agreement in place with Troy. Old Troy Road is an anomaly, falling in between not only Glen Carbon, but Troy and Collinsville Township jurisdictions, which makes an improvement project even more difficult.
Most of Old Troy Road is within the Village of Glen Carbon boundary, but Troy and Collinsville Township also have portions in its jurisdictions, Glen Carbon Mayor Robert Jackstadt said.
Mayor Jackstadt said the project to improve the road will take an estimated 18 months. He said he hopes it will not require that much time, but once the project is in motion, it will be “exciting.”
“Having a total of three [jurisdictions] with Glen Carbon, Troy and Collinsville is part of the confusion,” Jackstadt said about the project. “Old Troy Road is in bad shape."
Jackstadt estimated the project would cost $6 million. Glen Carbon’s portion of the agreement will be paid through bonds and sales tax revenue that were OK’d in the November election.
Jackstadt said the hope is the project will begin in spring of 2018.
The Glen Carbon mayor said it is an absolute necessity with the condition of Old Troy Road that the project begins soon.
“We can’t wait or it will get worse,” he said. “We hope to put things out to bid by 2018 and hope conservatively that the project will begin in spring 2018.”
Jackstadt said many who use the road do not live in Glen Carbon, so the slight sales tax increase is fair and will be essential to paying for the improvements.
In hindsight, Jackstadt said if they had known what the state of Illinois would do in regard to the project and keeping it delayed, they would have moved more quickly to get the support of the others involved.
“We figured we cannot wait on anyone else so we moved ahead,” he said.
Because of the ingenuity of Mayor Jackstadt, Village Administrator Jamie Bowden, board members, and the neighboring communities in regard to funding, people will be able to see monumental improvements on Old Troy Road in coming months. The improvements are something many around Glen Carbon and the neighboring communities have been clamoring for over several years, especially with the additions of the high school and elementary school just off the busy roadway.
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