Keebler Road funding in Maryville approved
by Randy Pierce • Part of Keebler Road, a major north-south thoroughfare in Maryville, will be improved with the help of a funding support resolution approved by the Madison County Board at its regular monthly meeting held on Wednesday, August 20.
The legislation brought forward by the board’s transportation committee, chaired by Bobby Ross of St. Jacob, states an agreement that also includes the Village of Maryville and the Illinois Department of Transportation will lead to a stretch of Keebler Road from Lorry Lane to west of Main Street being the focus of the upgrade plans.
Along with the milling and paving of the existing roadway, the project will consist of replacing sidewalks, curb and gutter, new entrance/exit ways from private property, striping and other work as needed.
To be designed “in order to facilitate the free flow of traffic and insure (sic) safety to the motoring public,” the improvements are being tentatively supported by a commitment of $81,852 from the county’s motor fuel tax fund.
Administered through the Illinois Department of Transportation, that fund, characterized in government circles by its initials, MFT, consists of income derived from a tax collected from operators of motor vehicles on public highways and roads or using recreational watercraft in the waters of this state.
Paid “at the pump” by consumer motorists, the tax collected for this purpose currently stands at 48.3 cents per gallon of conventional gasoline, a number which was increased effective July 1, or gasohol with higher rates for diesel fuel and other forms of liquified or natural gas petroleum acquired by customers.
The Illinois Highway Code specifies that this money can only be used toward expenses as related to the maintenance, upgrading, improvement or construction of the public surfaces which vehicles use. The logic involved in the setting up of this program many decades ago is that when drivers pay the tax upon purchasing fuel, it comes back as a benefit to them in the form of safe roads to use for short and long-term travel. The restrictions about how the money is spent have been made more liberal in recent years than when this program was originally established as long as there is a direct connection to the use of thoroughfares, streets, roads and highways by motorists.
The county and other local government entities receiving a share of motor fuel tax are required to report all such expenditures to the state department of transportation, fully documented, including advance estimates and bid documents as applicable.
At a meeting of the transportation committee earlier this month, the Madison County Highway Department engineer, Adam Walden explained the Village of Maryville had received some other funding support from the state which will be utilized first for paying toward this project’s cost.
This means, he continued, there is a possibility that, because of the state’s local “match” funding mechanism, the county may not have to contribute the entire amount mentioned in its approved resolution.
“It could be that the state funds cover a lot more of the project,” Walden noted, “than what they (Maryville) thought and then the federal dollars (administered through the IDOT) kick in at the end.”
“(The county’s share) could be up to 81 (thousand),” Walden added, “but it’s more than likely it could actually be less than that.”
A county board member who serves on the transportation committee, Paul Nicolussi of Collinsville, commented, “We really need that. That really helps us out. It connects to a lot of places in Collinsville. It’s one of the more important roads.”
Walden responded that he believes this is the final part of attention that has been given to Keebler for reconstruction and resurfacing, “which means next year, they’ll move on to another road.”
