My two cents worth: I-57 – Demolition derby; untapped gold mine in Franklin County.

by Steve Dunford

It is a near daily thing to hear of an accident on Interstate 57, where West Frankfort, West City, Benton and/or Sesser fire and rescue is toned out to a wreck on the interstate.

I read a feasibility study right before IDOT started the project expanding to six lanes between Mt. Vernon and Marion.  At the time, and I am quite sure it is still true today. the stretch between Interstates 64 and 24 is the third heavily traveled stretch of  interstate in a rural area in the nation.

There are currently over 30,000 vehicles per day travel on I-57 throughout the county.  By 2030, it is projected that 48,000 vehicles will pass daily.

The six lane project is not going to make it, by the proposed completion date of 2017.  I read a few weeks ago, completion is now slated for  2019.

When the project will be complete through Franklin County, Interstate 57 will not have any problem handling the traffic load.  Until then, I feel the speed limit needs to be dropped to 65.

All my life, I have watched reruns of Andy Griffith.  I was thinking of the episode where Barney Fife was given the motorcycle to drive.  He started writing tickets for people going one m.ph. over the speed limit.  He had the phrase, you give them one they will take two, you give them two, they will take three.

I haven’t driven in three years for health concerns.  I just know when I drove, that I counted on that extra five mph., to play with.  I would set my cruise at 75 on the interstate, and was passed by some like I was sitting still.

The bottom line is slow down, don’t be talking on your phone, and over all pay attention.

IDOT recently announced they will be installing guide cables in the median to prevent accidents with vehicles crossing into other lanes.

Here is the other side of the coin.  With the number of cars that I stated come through Franklin County on a daily basis,  we are sitting on a gold mine that we have not scratched the surface of.

The three interchanges throughout the county, are underdeveloped to say the least.

Going north to south, yes there is a few things that have developed at the Whittington exit.  What sticks out to me is a curbed four lane road that is north of the golf course, with fire  hydrants, and  a huge parking lot, that goes to absolutely to the middle of no where.

Talking with people from out of the area, a lot of people from the St. Louis metropolitan area have discovered Rend Lake.  Carlyle is too crowded for some, and Land between the Lakes is becoming more snake infested since the U.S Forest Service has taken over management from the Tennessee Valley Authority.

That area that I mentioned is prime for development.  Rend Lake is a huge economic boost to the region, however, I believe it can become a vacation destination for more and more people.

I am going to lump Benton and West Frankfort together, since there are a lot of similarities.   When you travel in the Southern States, towns that are comparable sizes have usually two or three exits.

I am 47 years old.  There has been talk of an exit at Petroff road.  There could be an exit off of 7th Street in West Frankfort as well.  Both would make easy access into underdeveloped industrial parks in both towns.

Easy interstate access would bring some much needed industrial type jobs to the county.

The talk of development of the Benton Airport property is encouraging.  There is so much that can be done with interstate frontage.

Benton would be a more likely candidate because of the 24 miles between Mount Vernon, but I think a chain motel would go well in one of the towns, or both.

Several years ago, I worked at what used to be the Days Inn that is going to be a gas station anytime.  I worked three days a week in the winter, I worked at least five days a week during the summer.

There would be at least 20 families a night during the summer that would walk out because there was not a pool.

There has been the widely rumored frontage road that would connect the Petroff and Route 14 exits if the Petroff Road exit is completed one day.

Between the two, a mid level hotel such as a Holiday Inn Express, Drury Inn, Comfort Inn or Hampton Inn would be pushing full capacity.  Interstate frontage could mean development of more businesses such as car dealerships as well as additional franchise restaurants.

One positive move I feel is the city of West Frankfort buying the VF Mall and all the land surrounding it.  There are very few things that can lure people off the interstate in West Frankfort.  The greatest is the mall itself.  The land around the mall is ripe to be developed for hotel and restaurant space.

Already, the new Taco Bell has been open a little over a month now.  I feel it is the first of great things.

As residents of Franklin County, we need to look northward to see how Mt. Vernon has grown, and how Marion has exploded and keeps growing.

We have every resource, land, easy water access, a busy interstate that cuts through the heart of the county, and a ready work force.  Both junior college districts can help prepare anyone in the county to take on any type of new industry.

I am just sharing my two cents worth on the subject.