Thursday, March 17, 2005 10:15 AM CST
Depot project ready for next step in House
By HERB MEEKER, Staff Writer
MATTOON -- The good news is the U.S. House of Representatives recently approved the 2005 version of the transportation bill, which includes $1.6 million for renovation of the Mattoon Depot Project.
Unfortunately, that is where the legislative process for the transportation bill stood 11 months ago before it got sidetracked into congressional committee "roundhouse runaround" for the remainder of 2004. The bill must be approved by the Senate before it lands on the president's desk.
"There are so many construction projects across the country depending on that bill," said Rob Doyle, president of the Coles County Historical Society, which is supporting the renovation of the 87-year-old depot. "I would think they would get fast tracked this year through the Senate."
Locally, a fund-raising drive is under way for the depot project. It will provide $700,000 as a local match for the work.
Known as the Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, the six-year bill provides $284 billion for federal highway, transit and highway safety programs. Under one provision of the bill, $875 million is dedicated to establishing a safe routes to school program to make bicycling and walking to school a more attractive transportation alternative. Another provision creates a new program for improvements to dangerous rural roads, where the bulk of highway-related fatalities are known to occur.
"The 15th district and the state of Illinois did exceptionally well in this round of funding that we've been negotiating over for the past three years," U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, R-Urbana, said. Illinois' share in the current bill is $7.18 billion, a 30-percent increase over funding secured in the previous transportation authorization known as TEA-21.
The historic depot in downtown Mattoon, serves two passenger trains a day as an Amtrak station. With the renovation, the local bus station would be relocated to the depot to consolidate public transportation in that facility. Other plans for the depot would create a new local museum as well as commercial space on the street level of the multi-level brick structure.
If the money is approved in Washington, Doyle said work would first start on installing a new elevator to help with access to the lower level where the passenger train station is located. Then work will progress on other aspects that help make the depot a centerpiece for redevelopment of the downtown.
"You almost have to liken the depot to a big anchor store for a mall. That's what a renovated depot could be," Doyle said.
That is a few years down the line. And what happens in coming weeks in Washington D.C. will determine how quickly that vision becomes reality.
Contact Herb Meeker at hmeeker@jg-tc.com or 238-6869.
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