Click
to see a map showing planned locations for urban
design improvements in Illinois (1.3Mb)
pdf. Where possible, renderings of future improvements
are referenced and included in the slide show below.
Click to see designs and photos from the Community Icon Design Contest.
The latest Flash plug-in is required to view the program.
Highlights
Urban
design for the Illinois improvements will address three important
New Mississippi River Bridge Project components:
Relocated
IL 3
The
reconstructed Tri-Level (I-55/64/70) Interchange
Relocated I-70
The urban
design process began in early 2002, and continued through
early 2003. It has featured 13 Community
Involvement Group meetings, 6 Urban Design Subcommittee
meetings, 3 public meetings, and, in November 2002, creation
of a Community Icon Design Contest for area
high school students.
This contest,
which determined an icon symbol to embellish a project bridge
or gateway structure in each of the four Illinois cities where
the improvements will be located – Brooklyn, East St.
Louis, Madison and Venice – is a very exciting part
of Illinois urban design plans, and an opportunity for these
communities to showcase their city’s pride, history
and character.
To see the contest winners and their designs, click the Community Icon Contest logo to the right.
We are
currently in the process of extending the Community Icon process
to Fairmont City for the proposed bridge that will carry
eastbound Relocated I-70 over existing I-55/70.
The
Theme
So what has all this work and collaboration produced?
The result
of the urban design process is an approach that celebrates
Southwestern Illinois’ rich cultural and archeological
heritage through a River Theme.
This theme, selected out of three theme possibilities by the
Community Involvement Groups in June, 2002, and presented
at public meetings soon after, highlights the importance of
the Mississippi River to the area throughout history. It will
connect the many communities joined by the improvements through
ongoing visual references to the river – and the winning
community icon symbols will play an important part in the
final treatment.
Take a
look at the following before/after photos and drawings to
get an idea of what the Illinois MRB improvements will look
like – and how they will reflect and enhance the communities
they serve.
The
Illinois Plan:
View photos of future urban design
concepts. This
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plug-in. Please select YES if you are prompted to
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