Viaduct Sidewalk a Decade Later

In the category of "way more complicated than it seems," is the case of the St. Mary's Road viaduct and the expanding traffic needs over the past couple decades beyond automobile traffic:

A Path Forward: Adding sidewalk no simple task, but new talks underway

In 2008, the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission recommended a sidewalk be added to the St. Mary’s Road viaduct — the only viaduct in town under the Canadian National Railroad without one...

 Any project at the viaduct would be complicated because of the numerous stakeholders involved, including: — Various groups at the University of Illinois (which owns the land northeast of the viaduct).

— The Catholic Diocese of Peoria (which owns the St. Mary’s Cemetery southeast of the viaduct).

— The city of Champaign (which has jurisdiction of the surface under the viaduct).

— The Canadian National Railroad (which owns the tracks).

— The Illinois Department of Transportation (which has jurisdiction over Neil Street).

— Barr Properties (which owns the building northwest of the viaduct).

— Enterprise Rent-a-Car (southwest of the viaduct).

There are also several other organizations, such as Ameren and Champaign- Urbana Mass Transit District, which could be affected by any changes to the viaduct.

But there have recently been talks to improve the viaduct.

The city of Champaign’s Planning and Public Works departments recently met with various UI officials to discuss the viaduct, and they decided the next step is another study and looking for funding.