MCORE Public Open House

The Champaign Urbana Mass Transit District (MTD), the City of Champaign, City of Urbana, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign applied for and received a $15.7 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grant for the construction of the Multimodal Corridor Enhancement (MCORE) Project (www.mcoreproject.com) within the University District.  The total cost for the project is estimated at $34.8 million, which includes the $15.7 million grant plus local matching funds estimated at $19.1 million.  An informational meeting is scheduled from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 17, 2015 at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center (601 South Lincoln Avenue, Urbana, IL) for the purpose of discussing the MCORE project, which consists of the five individual projects listed below:

Project No. 1  Green Street from Wright Street to Busey Avenue

Project No. 2  Green Street from Neil Street to Fourth Street

Project No. 3  White Street from Second Street to Wright Street and Wright Street from Springfield Avenue to White Street

Project No. 4  Armory Avenue from Fourth Street to Wright Street and Wright Street from Armory Avenue to Springfield Avenue

Project No. 5  Green Street from Busey Avenue to Race Street

All persons interested in this project are invited to attend either meeting.  Persons with a disability planning to attend this meeting should contact the individual listed below by September 14, 2015, to advise of their planned attendance.  The contact may be by telephone, in writing, or by fax.  If special accommodations are needed, the contact person should be informed at the time of contact.  The meeting room is accessible to persons with disabilities.

Each session will be an informal open house format.  An overview of the TIGER Grant and the MCORE Project will be provided at the welcome station.  Five sub-stations will be set up to provide more detailed information on Projects 1 through 5.  Representatives from each of the agencies, along with their consultants, Clark Dietz, Inc. and Hanson Professional Services Inc., will be available to discuss the projects.  The MCORE representatives will answer individual questions and record comments offered by those in attendance.  Verbatim comments will not be recorded.  The presentation will address topics such as the need for the project, the design alternatives under consideration, right-of-way acquisition, and the tentative construction schedule.  Preliminary design alternatives, maps, and aerial photography will be available for inspection and viewing during the entire time.

Each street will undergo either full reconstruction or major rehabilitation to rebuild the streets into multi-modal complete street corridors to accommodate all modes of travel (bus, pedestrian, bike, and vehicle).  In addition to the pavement improvements, other project benefits will be improved bus capacity and frequency on these key bus routes; and improved sidewalks, new street lighting, and the addition of on-street bicycle lanes.

Projects 1, 2, and 3 will be the first projects designed and will utilize the full $15.7 million TIGER funding, with construction on Projects 1, 2, and 3 likely to begin in the fall of 2016.  Design work will proceed on Projects 4 and 5 after design is finalized on the first three projects, with the construction of Projects 4 and 5 planned to begin in June of 2018.  The MCORE open house meetings will be seeking input on all five projects. 

Public comments will be accepted until Friday, October 2, 2015.  All comments will be considered and documented in the project record.

For more information, contact Cindy Loos, Hanson Professional Services, Inc., telephone 309/713-1402, fax 309/691-0902.

Additional information attached is an MCORE Fact Sheet.