BLOOMINGTON - Melanie Johnson wants to turn left on to Towanda Barnes Road when she picks up her child from day care on Oakland Avenue. But an ongoing fight between two local governments is keeping that from being an easy task.

As businesses and homes spring up on the city's east side, Towanda Barnes Road traffic is getting heavier. That makes a left turn onto the five-lane road seem like a luxury for drivers.

Johnson, of Bloomington, wants to see a stoplight at the intersection of Oakland Avenue and Towanda Barnes.

"We were told the light was supposed to go in during the spring," Johnson said. "But now we keep being told it is politics that is causing the delay."

McLean County Highway Engineer Jack Mitchell, who has jurisdiction over Towanda Barnes, said he has been ready to move forward on the project since the start of the construction season this spring.

But instead of being the project engineer, Mitchell has found himself acting as a negotiator between the city of Bloomington and Old Town Township. The city has jurisdiction over the west side of Oakland Avenue and the township has jurisdiction over the east side.

The county has the city's permission but now needs the township's permission to work on Oakland Avenue, Mitchell said.

But the township is at odds with the city. The two governments disagree on when the city should take over the township roads surrounding the Grove at Kickapoo Creek, a subdivision just off of Towanda Barnes Road on Ireland Grove Road.

Towanda Barnes intersects Ireland Grove a little less than a mile south of the intersection with Oakland.

Conflict for more than a year

The argument over the roads has been going on for more than a year and it appears to be the conflict keeping the intersection project from going forward.

"That was a surprise to me," Mitchell said. "It is frustrating because this project could be close to being completed."

Bloomington City Engineer Doug Grovesteen said the city has been willing to participate in the intersection project. He pointed to an intergovernmental agreement with the county approved in October 2006 by the Bloomington City Council as proof the city wants the stoplight.

As part of the agreement, the city is paying for half the project cost.

In the meantime, Mitchell said he has met with the city and township in an effort to help them work out their differences over the roads around The Grove in an effort to get the project moving.

"We've made a lot of progress and we may be on the right track now," Mitchell said.

Grovesteen said he has met with Old Town Township Road Commissioner Phil Reynolds, and the city staff is reviewing the terms of a proposed agreement discussed at that meeting.

Calls to Reynolds and other township officials seeking comment were not immediately returned.

'Can't we just get it done?'

Johnson, who has been calling the county, city and the township about the problem, said the need for the stoplight became a little more serious for her after a three-car crash occurred in July at the intersection. Johnson's husband and child had been at the intersection minutes before the crash.

"By a difference of minutes and that could have been my family," Johnson said. "So now getting the stoplight is personal."

Mary Lynne Berry, from Resurrection Lutheran Church, 4114 E. Oakland Ave. agrees the intersection is dangerous.

"I have to cross (Towanda Barnes) to get the mail and just crossing the street sometimes is pretty scary," Berry said. "Evenings are the worse for trying to turn left."

Community clubs frequently use the church for meetings and those leaving often have trouble managing the traffic on Towanda Barnes. Traffic for the neighboring movie theater and nearby soccer fields add to the congestion for those attending the church's Saturday service.

Julie Dobski, owner of Little Jewels Learning Center, 4117 E. Oakland Ave., said she is concerned about the number of accidents and the high speed cars on Towanda Barnes are traveling.

"There have been three serious accidents that I'm aware of and still nothing is being done," Dobski said. "I don't care who is holding it up, can't we just get it done?"