The construction workers have gone back to work and much to the chagrin of many motorists they seem to be all over the place. Anyone who needs to travel north on Interstate 55 from Arsenal Road to Route 6 in Channahon would be wise to seek an alternate route.

Back-ups of 2 miles or more have been observed. Likewise, the situation along Route 59 from Interstate 55 in Shorewood through the Village of Plainfield one can encounter long slowdowns. Delays are often and substantial. One reason is the work hours on these roadways have been extended and sometimes can start as early as 5:30 A.M. and last until 10:00 P.M. You may think you are going to miss the construction time, but may still end up getting stuck in traffic.

The City is also in the construction mode at various locations around Joliet. The City budget contains no money for street repairs this year, but the funds are coming from three different sources. A total of thirteen streets are identified for resurfacing on the City’s website, www.CityofJoliet.info. If it is not in the budget then where is it coming from? This years projects will come from the City of Joliet’s share of Motor Fuel Tax funds and Federal Economic Stimulus Funds. You can tell where the Federal money is being spent by the identifying signs touting the stimulus package passed by Congress to provide the jobs created by repairing the roads. Making these signs kept some government workers busy and cost the taxpayers millions of dollars. All to let us know where the stimulus money has gone. Money on signs that tell us we are spending our taxes to fix our roads is somewhat redundant. It is a safe bet most of us knew it was our tax money.

There are two resurfacing projects Joliet has added that are not listed on the website that will be paid for from Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). These are funds provided through the federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) agency. The City was able to acquire these funds when the City amended the 2008 Joliet Action Plan, which provides money for construction projects located in low, moderate, and middle-income neighborhoods. The new resurfacing projects are Dewey Street from McDonough Street to Morgan Street and Clement Street from Douglas to Ruby. The CDBG funds will pay about 70% of cost of the project with the remaining balance being paid for with neighborhood Improvement funds left over from the 2009 budget. Although HUD has not yet approved the projects listed in the amendment the City does not anticipate any delays in getting the projects completed this year.

The Times Weekly received several comments about last week’s column regarding a possible tax increase and/or borrowing money to plug gaps in the 2011 budget. Since the shortfall in 2011 is expected to be about $3.4 million it is possible that some employees may again be offered early buyouts for retirement purposes and to cut the expense line of the City budget. However, the result of fewer employees could be a reduction in services. If you were to look at the 2012 projection for the City’s finances you would see a $30.5 million shortfall. As the expression goes: It is like a snowball rolling down hill. It is unlikely these shortfalls will be overcome without a substantial change in the way the City operates. The City appears to be pinning its hopes of a turn around on a substantial infusion of revenue provided by businesses located in the new Center Point project and on the economic benefit a new transportation center in downtown Joliet will provide. In the meantime, expenses are rising and revenues are not keeping up. Stay tuned.