The hole in the middle is shrinking

Utica’s mayor is beginning to get excited. David Stewart can drive south down Route 178, look to his left and see just a few car lengths of steel missing from the otherwise-completed span.

The span will be finished in a few weeks and then there will be progress on two all-important projects for Utica: A shared-used path for walkers and cyclists to cross the river and a sewer line extending service south of downtown.

“There’s been a noticeable change the last few weeks,” Stewart said approvingly. “The construction workers have definitely gotten a lot done and you can see the structure take shape.”

Farmers may have good reason to be unhappy with the weather this year — drought-like conditions are, however, beginning to recede — but for construction crews the weeks of extended sunshine and little rain were heaven-sent. After floods got construction off to a perilously slow start, construction teams are making visible strides in Utica.

“People should see the span completed some time in October,” said Kyle Videgar, construction engineer for the Illinois Department of Transportation. “After the spring floods, I’d say the weather has been pretty favorable.”

That’s a significant reversal from June, when Videgar reported Utica’s new bridge was two weeks behind schedule. Videgar remarked at the time the flooding was worse than he could remember in 17 years with IDOT.

Now, however, teams are producing tangible results and village officials are eager to see the fruits of their investment.

While the bridge replacement was funded largely from state coffers, Utica asked IDOT to include a walking/cycling path and sewer extension and agreed to pay for both. Utica’s share of the project came to a hefty (for a municipality its size) $800,000, but Stewart viewed it as an investment not only in Utica’s all-important tourism but in the village’s quality of life, as well.

The shared-use path will provided Utica with its first pedestrian route to Starved Rock to be segregated from vehicular traffic, enabling visitors and locals to walk or peddle from downtown to Starved Rock and back.

“That’s really going to boost the attractions the events and the businesses in town,” Stewart said. “The lighted bike path is just a huge attraction for residents and for tourism and a lot of residents do like to cycle and can enjoy biking into Starved Rock and back into Utica.”

Could the shared-use path also alleviate the parking crunch Starved Rock experiences on its busiest weekends? Complex superintendent Kerry Novak is less than convinced of that; parking still needs to be expanded and the sheer distance of the Utica-to-park route may entice only a few visitors to park their cars in Utica and then cross the river on foot or by bicycle.

Nevertheless, Novak is eager to see the shared-use path completed and is as pleased as Stewart to see the project back in high gear.

“We already have a great opportunity for hiking and bicycling on the Illinois & Michigan Canal tow path and I foresee that this will open a fantastic opportunity to access Starved Rock,” Novak said. “I would imagine it is going to provide a wonderful evening bike ride or stroll.”

Meanwhile, construction is in no way impeding Utica businesses, at least according to state retail sales data.

Figures from the Illinois Department of Revenue available for the period ending June 30 show Utica businesses off to their best start ever. The village has so far collected $123,115, buoyed by the village’s best-ever June, topping an all-time mark set three years ago.

Tom Collins can be reached at (815) 220-6930 or TCollins@shawmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @NT_Court.