Road Worrier and MTD Updates

The News-Gazette had a general bad news report on the state of the State of Illinois' roads, with some local highlights.

Rough road ahead

Among the nuggets of local interest included in a report issued Wednesday on the state of Illinois roads:

1. Fifty-five percent of major locally and state-maintained roads in the Champaign-Urbana urban area are in poor or mediocre shape. That includes 24 percent in poor condition and 31 percent considered to be mediocre.

2. Ten bridges (20 feet or longer) in the broader C-U area are considered to be structurally deficient, meaning there is significant deterioration of the bridge deck, supports or other major components. Those bridges may be posted for lower weight limits or closed if their conditions warrant.

3. The C-U area had the second-lowest annual cost per driver, $299, linked to traffic congestion among six urban areas in the state. That cost was lowest in Springfield and highest in Chicago.

4. In terms of time lost, traffic congestion in the C-U area added 13 hours of delay per year for the average driver.

5. In addition to annual congestion-related costs, drivers in C-U incurred $544 in repairs and other extra vehicle operating costs as a result of driving on deteriorated roads and $629 in added costs related to road features that impact safety, such as the number of lanes, lane widths, lighting, lane markings, rumble strips, shoulders and guardrails.

Full article here. The print edition referred to some local official commentary on the road damage from the MTD and others, and I believe they're referring to this article from yesterday: Cities' road-maintenance funds don't stretch as far as they used to

From the MTD meeting:

Proposed Illinois Terminal expansion loses out on federal grant funds
The proposed expansion of the Illinois Terminal in downtown Champaign — part of a larger downtown redevelopment plan potentially worth $150 million — didn't win any of the $500 million available this year in federal TIGER grant funding, Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District Managing Director Karl Gnadt said Wednesday.

But other options remain to help fund the project, he said, including a second federal grant program known as the Bus & Bus Facilities Infrastructure Investment Program, via the Federal Transit Administration...

Also at Wednesday's monthly MTD board meeting, Gnadt said that the MTD's Token Transit app, which enables users to purchase rides online with a credit or debit card, would go into effect Monday.

The app is available for download, he said, but purchases can't be made until Monday.

They can be bought in any denomination, from a single ride to an annual or monthly pass.

That full article here.