The city of Urbana has been awarded a nearly $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to complete the Florida Avenue Multimodal Corridor Reconstruction project.
The grant will fund enhancing the safety and accessibility of the area, which city officials say has been a cause for concern for years.
A report from the Champaign-Urbana Urbanized Area Transportation Study highlighted that the “road surface conditions on the majority of Florida Avenue are rated “very poor.” This is due to a lack of pedestrian-friendly amenities and deteriorating roads and sidewalks.
The project will add major upgrades from South Wright Street to Hillcrest Avenue, including an off-street shared-use path between Lincoln Avenue and Race Street and ADA accessible sidewalks. Other improvements include better lighting and bus cutouts to enhance traffic flow.
Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin expressed her gratitude towards local agencies like the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District (MTD), who helped the city secure the grant, saying the new funding will help transform Urbana.
“This is a type of project where, if we did it with our local funds, it would take years. It has taken years. And we would have to take away funding from other much needed projects,” she said. “So this just allows us to complete this corridor project all at once, and to build it the way we need to be built.”
MTD managing director Karl Gnadt echoed Marlin’s sentiments. He added that an upgraded corridor would improve the link between the university campus and the rest of the community.
“The pedestrian upgrade and adding a multi-use path on the south side of Florida Avenue, will enhance the connection, but also allow for additional forms of mobility,” he said.
According to Marlin, the shared-use path is in the design phase, and construction is expected to begin later this year.
In 2023, the city received a $2.5 million grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation to support building the path, as well as another one along Bakers Lane, connecting Main and Washington Streets.
Although the overall project remains in the early stages, Marlin said she’s certain its completion will bring a new light to the city.
“It’s going to be a street and a complete street that we can be proud of,” she said.