URBANA -- Champaign County Board members narrowly defeated a plan to build a Lincoln Avenue extension north to Olympian Drive using a "green line" route that had been backed by the city of Urbana and local highway engineers.

The 13-10 vote against the green alignment apparently means that a compromise plan, which had been pushed by Champaign Republican Alan Nudo and Urbana Democrat Brendan McGinty, will be developed. Proponents of the compromise estimated that a study would cost about $170,000 to $180,000 and would take about 18 months.

County highway engineer Jeff Blue said he hoped to bring  the county board a list of new options in two weeks.

But Urbana Mayor Laurel Prussing said she still hopes to persuade the board to adopt the green alignment.

"I think that when the county board starts thinking about where are they going to get $170,000 maybe some of those people who want the project but don't want the green will reconsider," she said. "Green is the logical way."

Prussing said it's not clear who will pay for a study of a new Lincoln Avenue alignment.

"I told them tonight that we're not willing to spend more money on more studies," she said. "What this is really is that we can't find perfect. Sometimes my philsophy is we just have to settle for excellent."

The 13 votes against the green alignment came from Democrats Carol Ammons, Alan Kurtz, Pattsi Petrie, Lloyd Carter and McGinty, plus Republicans Stephanie Holderfield, Stan James, John Jay, Brad Jones, Diane Michaels, Steve O'Connor, Larry Sapp and Nudo.

At least four of the votes against the design came from Republicans who are believed to be opposed to the entire Olympian Drive-Lincoln Avenue project.

The 10 votes for the green line came from Democrats Christopher Alix, Janet Anderson, Astrid Berkson, Tom Betz, Lorraine Cowart, Ralph Langenheim, James Quisenberry, Michaels Richards and C. Pius Weibel, plus Republican Jonathon Schroder.

Three board members were absent -- Republicans Steve Moser and Ron Bensyl and Democrat Giraldo Rosales. The fourth absentee was Republican Greg Knott, who resigned from the board last week.

"Compromise is probably the best thing we could do," said Nudo. "We have to come up with a way to make this happen. I don't want two dead ends. I want growth."

Holderfield said the county should not rely on an old study of the new Lincoln Avenue alignment.

"An 11-year-old study is wrong," she said. "Get it updated. Let's do it right."

McGinty said the county needs new information to make its decision.

"I am convinced after a year of continual meetings with all these groups involved here ... that there are better options," he said.

Before the vote on the Lincoln Avenue route,  the board approved rebuilding Olympian along the longstanding alignment between Apollo Drive and Lincoln Avenue. That was by a 19-4 vote, with Republicans Stan James, John Jay, Diane Michaels and Larry Sapp voting "no.'