April 5, 2006

Corridor 67 development

Going for a ride

Last Friday’s political and media tour of U.S. 67 was a success, as far as a bus ride up and down a stretch of highway goes.

The on-again, off-again expansion of the corridor has pretty much stalled, despite funding requests, promises, proposals and budget line items that never get funded. It is not on the radar screen of Springfield politicians.

At least it wasn’t until last Friday, when State Senator Deanna Demuzio led a (bio-diesel powered) bus tour of the economically important U.S. 67. The guest of honor was IDOT Secretary Tim Martin. The two were accompanied by State Representative Jim Watson (R-Jacksonville), Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson (D-Chicago Heights) and State Senator William Haine of Alton.

The purpose of the trip was to bring to Martin’s attention the condition of the corridor as well as the importance of it to our area. From Jacksonville to Alton, the expansion of U.S. 67 to a four-lane highway, with bypasses and all the rest, is widely seen as vital to the economic development of this area.

After the tour, Martin said that he was now aware that not only are congestion and safety major concerns, but that new businesses, like warehousing, distribution, manufacturing and retail, won’t come into this area without a four-lane road.

Ahhhh, everyone sighed. He gets it! Whether this will translate into real funding and real work is another matter, but this is a good start.

Demuzio flexed some political muscle to get Martin on the tour. She held up his confirmation for reappointment as IDOT secretary for two weeks until he promised to take a ride with her. Even then, she and 18 other Democrats voted against his appointment (that, of course, was as much for some IDOT financial irregularities currently being investigated as for Martin’s lack of attention to this area). In what can only be described as a bizarrely but refreshingly honest political moment, Martin admitted that only Demuzio holding up his appointment got his attention. “They have our attention now,” he said after the tour.

It is doubtful that any real progress will be seen on the corridor’s expansion any time soon, but the tour sent a strong message. And just the fact that the bus was filled with some very important politicians – Halverson and Martin – is a good sign. Demuzio, and Watson, are to be applauded for the efforts on behalf of the project.

But we won’t hold our breath.