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The interchange at Exit 192 on I-57 at County Road 1000N has only been open to traffic for under a month, yet it has already created some enthusiasm among business agencies in Mattoon.

Mary Wetzel, executive director of the Mattoon Chamber of Commerce, said the interchange has the potential to greatly help area businesses.

“We think it will be a big plus for the area,” she said.

The interchange, located north of Mattoon on I-57, was created as a result of a petition made by area businesses 13 years ago in the hopes of creating a more direct route to factories for trucking traffic.

Wetzel said the interchange has not seen much traffic so far, but she expects it to become more frequented once the interchange is more clearly marked as a road for trucking traffic.

But the road will not just help truckers find their way to factories.

Wetzel said the interchange will help employees of the various factories and warehouses located north of Mattoon get to work easier and faster.

“I know [employees] are going to be very excited about that,” Wetzel said.

Employees of the Mars Pet Care factory is one of the largest employers of Mattoon residents in the area, according to the Mattoon Chamber of Commerce, and is one business that will have an easier time getting to work as a result of the interchange.

Chris Haas, operations manager for the plant, said the interchange gives employees as well as truckers a more direct route to reach the factory.

“It’ll make it that much easier for people to get here,” he said.

Haas said employees who live in Mattoon will not be the only ones given an advantage by the interchange.

He said those employees who live in Charleston will be able to have a faster and less trafficked route to the factory once the rest of the interchange opening a connecting road to Charleston is completed.

Cole County Engineer Rick Johnson said in a previous interview that there is no completion date set as of yet for when the road to Charleston will be completed.

Haas said he does not think the interchange will necessarily create more business for the factory right away, but said he had heard several comments from vendors on how much easier it is to find the factory with the interchange in place.

He said this ease of direction will be how his, and other businesses on the outskirts of Mattoon, will be positively affected by the interchange.

“The major benefits for us is when we’re giving directions to people; [the interchange] makes giving directions a lot easier,” Haas said.

Jordan Crook can be reached at 581-7945 or at jscrook@eiu.edu.