City To Receive Up To $1 Million for Corridor and Railroad Underpass Improvements
The State of Illinois announced recently
that the City would be awarded a grant of up to
$1 million as part of the Illinois Transportation
Enhancement Program, the purpose for which
is to improve “the cultural, historic, aesthetic
and environmental aspects of our
transportation infrastructure.”
The funds will be used to improve the
appearance of two of Decatur’s primary
entryways – U.S. 51 and U.S. Route 36/
Eldorado Street – specifically through the
addition of bridge and overpass treatments,
monuments and landmarks. The aesthetic appearance of the two corridors can dramatically influence impressions that motorists and pedestrians have about the city and the goal is to project a positive image to both visitors and residents traveling along the two routes. Motorists may have noticed that many of the overpasses along both corridors, while safe and functional, are in desperate need of aesthetic improvements. The funds are designated specifically for the corridor improvements and cannot be used for other projects or general city operations. “Our corridors play an important yet often overlooked part in crafting the city’s image, helping to define how we see ourselves and how others view the community,” said Greg |
Crowe, Assistant City Manager for Economic and Urban Development. “The corridors are
often the first impression given to potential employers or residents relocating to our community and this funding will help us to put our best foot forward.” This award is the second ITEP grant from the state, bringing the total funding award thus far to $2.5 million. An earlier grant is being used to improve the Eldorado Street corridor from Church St. east to the Illinois Central Railroad. The city has also been able to make a significant number of bridge and corridor improvements through other sources of state, federal and private funding in recent years. Work was recently completed to make the Garfield Avenue Bridge safe for heavy loads through American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (stimulus) funds, and improvements to the overpass spanning West Main St. between Oakland and Fairview Avenues were funded in part through $1.5 million in federal funding. The MacArthur Road Bridge just north of Ash Avenue will be replaced in the spring through a combination of stimulus and Federal Surface Transportation Program (STP-U) funds totaling $800,000. The Canadian National Railroad in late 2009 funded the rehabilitation of the Prairie Avenue bridge just east of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive at a cost of about $350,000. |