ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - Several serious car accidents at certain intersections along Route 75 in South Beloit pushed city leaders to propose changes to make the stretch of land safer for travelers.
South Beloit city leaders will discuss the results of a Stateline Area Transportation Study with the Illinois Department of Transportation before approving any changes, but they say travelers may see a change in traffic flow.
While most people’s goal when driving through the region is to get to their destination safely, experts say it’s not always in their hands and intersections can often be the most dangerous spots like the ones at Illinois Routes 2 and 75.
“It’s not safe right now to bike on these roads, it’s not safe to travel through them, not safe to walk on them, there’s a lot of intersections that need attention,” said South Beloit’s city administrator Sonya Hoppes.
That section in South Beloit is the focus of a transportation study to assess what repairs must be made and whether they need to reconfigure the stretch of road.
““The goal of the study is to look at traffic operations, traffic safety, access and multimotoral accommodations along Gardner Street, or Illinois Route 75 and look at ways to improve all of those features,” said Route 75 study consultant project manager Lee Gibbs.
Gibbs says proposals include shifting the lanes to accommodate left turn lanes with better field of vision, adding two roundabouts and putting in a bike lane.
“I think anything that’s going beautify, simplify, make the area safer for people to get to these businesses is a good thing” said Best of Beloit Vintage Mall manager Sarah Ahrens
“We’re really trying to be proactive in this and making sure our community is a safe spot and people can drive through here and not have to be concerned of multiple car accidents,” said South Beloit Fire Department Fire Chief Jason Griffin.
Gibbs says one of the roundabouts is proposed at the Route 75 and US 51 intersection and the other one is at the Route 75 and Willbrook intersection because those are intersections with high frequency of crashes.
Gibbs says the final proposal will be discussed with the City of South Beloit and the Illinois Department of Transportation through a report later this year.
