Public information meetings were held in various locations throughout the corridor during the first quarter of 2008:
- January 23 Centralia
- January 24 (afternoon) Vandalia
- January 24 Ramsey
- (February 21 Centralia-postponed due to inclement weather)
- (March 4 Sandoval-postposed due to inclement weather)
- March 5 Patoka
- March 18 Centralia
- March 24 Sandoval
The meetings were to announce the kick-off of the US 51 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The purpose of each meeting was to introduce the project, the EIS process, and the Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS) public involvement process to the communities. Public input was encouraged in the open house format with an opportunity to converse with the project study group team who included members of Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and US 51 Partners and also leave feedback in a comment box. Members of the public were also asked to volunteer on a Regional or Citizen Advisory Group. These advisory groups will meet regularly and assist the project study group with social, cultural, and environmental issues related to the study corridor for the duration of the EIS.
The displays and handouts for Public Information Meeting #1 are available in the documents section.