So I heard or read somewhere that METRA has 400 steel bridges near the very end or past the end of their useful lives. They were debating to ask the state for $5 Billion which along with their other needs would only replace 100 of the 400 bridges. I don’t understand why they do not present the whole case to the legislature and tax payers instead of trying to eek by with just what they think they can get. In my view they need a larger permanent source of funding if they cannot afford to keep things in a state of good repair or replacement. Seems odd with the money they have already they have these issues but if they are continuing to see shortfalls in funding then they need to attempt to fix that issue before they become Chicago’s version of Amtrak.
What a shot in the arm for the domestic steel as well as railroad industry if they could get all 400 bridges replaced in the next 5-10 years.
Different definitions of broke. In the purest form, no they are not broke, they can still borrow money and raise taxes higher. They have financial problems with pension payments as well as debt I believe but I do not follow their financial issues too closely. They are discussing making a plea to the State for another $5 Billion though so they can’t be hurting that much.
Some of us do follow things closely. The former governor Rauner was a disaster, wasting huge amounts of money on interest and penalties for paying bills late. Hopefully that will improve now but Metra should have a bond sale and some alternative revenue source to make up for declines in sales tax revenue.
A bridge program wouldn’t be as big a consumer of steel as you might think. Many of the bridges in question are short street overpasses inside Chicago which were built during the various track elevation projects required by city ordinances from about 1890 to 1920.