By: Diane Benjamin
I attended the bid opening in Uptown Normal today for building the underpass. The lowest bid was $35+ million, the only other bid was $40+ million. Watch the video. One bidder submitted a HUGE stack of papers, the other didn’t. More details tomorrow.
$35M for something few want and even fewer will use…
There are a lot of people who can be helped, a lot of roads fixed, a lot of economic development, a lot of water/sewer upgrades for that amount. When this gets pushed through, well above what they touted, Normal taxpayers will only need to look in the mirror as to how this happened.
Millions have already been spent on this vanity project. The soccer complex, which was Kathleen Lorenz’s pet project, would have cost less but would have been used by more people than Koos’ underpass. However most of soccer complex users were not have been Koos bike and running shoe customers.
Unbelievable. I can’t imagine how anyone can support that kind of money for a tunnel under the tracks.
This just the construction bid. It is NOt the full cost. You need to add the other costs that will be billed directly to the town, like:
– Engineering
– Rail Road Reimbursements
– Rail Road Construction Management
– Project Management
– Town staff involvement
– Landscaping
– Overruns
– etc
For a realistic estimate, take construction cost and double it. Though, since government projects are done in the most inefficient manor possible, I’d expect the final total cost to be 3-4 times higher.
Unfortunately, Normal will build it despite the cost. It is only taxpayer money and Normal is run by Democrats.
Yes. It’ll be closer to $80-$100 for an underpass. Versus FREE overpass.
Originally it was going to cost $16,000,000.00 in 2015 or have the railroad do the overpass for free. But Koo’s KO’d that!
Unless that federal money comes in by noon on 1/20/25, it won’t come at all. Normal citizens are going to be on the hook for every dime of this. It’s going to happen, King Koos has already ruled on it.
I truly feel for people that don’t have the means to leave. That said the ones that do and still complain and moan, not so much. This is just more garbage from the established BN Clique that has been running things for decades. You can attend all the meetings you want and complain but the powers that be don’t give a shitte what the taxpayer thinks. Koos thinks because he served in Nam that the public owes him until he’s dead. None of his acolytes or employees will ever cross him so expect more of this waste. His McLean County Wheeler nd Bike BloNo buddies came up with all of this so if you know or see any of them, give them a high five and a hug for this waste of taxpayer money. Also, give Mike Matekja and the Penn’s a big slap on the back at the Laborers Hall for the quid pro quo. These people are no better than Chicago politicians who steal your money with a smile and laugh about it in your face. Put a for sale sign up in your yard, start looking for another job or start a taxpayer riot in Uptown. It’s the only way things change.