MT. VERNON — The City of Mt. Vernon held a public hearing at City Hall Tuesday to discuss a grade separation for the railroad crossings at Broadway and Main St., located on the east side of Mt. Vernon.

A 2004 feasibility study conducted by Hanson Professional Services Inc., a consulting firm in Springfield, IL, showed the project would cost somewhere between $24-26 million dollars and take between 4-6 years to complete.

The project then and now, based on this study, would be done via federal grant money under IDOT District 9 regulations.

That same 2004 study was presented today by James. W. Moll, the project manager from the same company; showing 6 alternative plans to what is currently at the route 15 railroad crossing.

The overall looming question for everyone at the public hearing was, “What is the next step?”

Here is project manager Moll.

The project today is estimated to cost between $40-50 million and would take 5-6 years to complete.

You can find a link to Hanson Services’ full study here http://www.mtvernon.com/transparency