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Reply to more threads, start threads less. Life has been as predicted....unpredictable
So I am super interested with the foreshadowing of all of this bull shit from the State.... is this Redoing of the Western Hall going to happen?
A while back I remember a ground breaking ceremony for a yet to be started PAC..... that the State approved... they also approved a By-pass that is not happening either. Am I the only one that Hates Springfield. The Western Counties have suffered exponentially for over 60 years.
The Expressway and the PAC goes very far to legitimize the region and to spur growth..... The 3 time defeated Kansas City Corridor would have changed this region forever......I am angry that this part of the United States gets ignored.
Yep, it's very very frustrating, and more than likely the bypass is never going to be four lanes. Makes sense to spend alllll that money on dirt work for four lanes only to pave two. Talk about a waste.
Last I heard the new seating is still a go.
We need a representative from this area that will truly fight for our area in Springfield, not just a politician.
I am pretty sure they will end up doing the 4 lanes, I have little doubt about that even in the rough times. It is one of the main projects and is one that helps keep individuals in a job and a economy driver in the area, IDOT knows that. They will most likely bid it out 1 or 2 years after the 2 lanes are complete. What may not happen anytime soon is the east side bypass that they had already discussed a few years back. That is assuming that this whole mess comes to end in the next year and losses flatten out eventually through cuts/taxes or whatever they enact.
I hope you're right, I've heard the opposite. There are other higher priorities to be taken care of. But your timeline could be correct. And it would be alright by me if that was the case lol.
This area is so disconnected from the rest of the state, it truly is "forgottonia".
But the infrastructure in all of downstate Illinois is in very
poor shape.
Four lanes of 67 coming from the south ends in chapin, just northwest of Jacksonville. I'm young and I still doubt I'll ever see that brought all the way up to Macomb in my lifetime.
I agree our infrastructure is below average and many bridges are failing. Part of that issue has to do with the fact that a ton of the money for that work comes from motor fuel taxes and so many of our cars are much more fuel efficient than they were 10 to 20 years ago. That plus the use of electric cars and more carpooling which are all great things has caused for motor fuel funds to be effected. Basically they should when the gas prices are low enacted a proper increase in motor fuel tax to compensate for the higher fuel efficiency which means we drive the same miles, but have to pay less for fuel and tax so in turn same amount of damage to roads with less money to fix. The other thing they will need to do is find a way to enact a tax on electric vehicles which will most likely come in form of either a flat rate charge per year or a mileage charge, which would be more fair, where they will need to claim miles each year when registering plates so that proper tax for usage of roads can be administered. I believe from what I have read in the past the last fuel tax increase was 1993 so we most likely have been lucky that it took this long for them to increase it.
wiu51 wrote:From what I heard the new seating is getting / got scrapped.
Next year, BYOFC (Bring Your Own Folding Chair). If and/or when we ever get a new west side or arena, please incorporate some perches in the design for POC (Personally Owned Chair) areas doled out on a first-come, first-served basis.
No, not scrapped but moving forward. More than how it looks there are definite safety issues every time the seats are pulled out or pushed back in that need to be addressed before someone gets hurt or they get crumpled and bent. Obviously there is some confusion on where the money is coming from and how that money can be used as was discussed by the SGA president during the "state of the student" gathering at Sherman last week. Funny but I have not heard any comments regarding this gathering which appeared to be very well attended. I think the SGA has been very supportive of the university and its struggle with no state support.
RedNeck, I too am very disappointed with this whole budget snafu! Just when we could see the "light at the end of the tunnel" for both the CPA and the 4 lane extension and bypass the proverbial "sh_t hit the fan" which stopped all positive moment on both of these capital projects for who knows how long. Basically WIU and the Illinois University system is suspended in "drought" mode until the people of Springfield get there act together. Of course plants respond to drought by first getting rid of leaves and then the weaker portions of the branches with the result of a much stronger plant in the future when the rains come and hopefully WIU will benefit from this forced pruning. It would be great if the student body, administration, and faculty could work together positively in this regard to the benefit of both WIU and Macomb! Of course no plant/tree can last forever without water. I don't know if I will be around long enough to see both the CPA and highway completed. Guess I will just stay positive and hope for the best.
The Westside of Hanson of course needs to be addressed. It is an eyesore in the middle of a beautiful campus. It will come totally from private funds which I am sure will cause some "financial" confusion in the future for people who just don't get higher ed finance. It has the potential to be a source of pride for not only the football program and WIU, but for the community of Macomb as well. (CPA has the potential to be this also!) But the time to set sail for this project definitely has to be right! Enough said! jc
Neckfansince71 wrote:No, not scrapped but moving forward. More than how it looks there are definite safety issues every time the seats are pulled out or pushed back in that need to be addressed before someone gets hurt or they get crumpled and bent. Obviously there is some confusion on where the money is coming from and how that money can be used as was discussed by the SGA president during the "state of the student" gathering at Sherman last week. Funny but I have not heard any comments regarding this gathering which appeared to be very well attended. I think the SGA has been very supportive of the university and its struggle with no state support.
As a safety issue, they'll probably take it out of student fees (Facility & Life Enhancements). That's what they did for the east side of Hanson Field and the steam tunnel work by Western Hall. Yes, the students sit in the east side of the football stadium so that sorta made sense, but the steam tunnel?? And I'm guess for Western Hall seating too even though students largely aren't allowed to sit in the seats that will be replaced.
jc