Editor’s Note: This article was published in the Spring 2010 Year in Review issue.

The city of Urbana, has seen many changes this year, ranging from new Internet capabilities to road expansion.

One of the biggest projects the Urbana City Council has undertaken this year is Big Broadband.

The fiber-optic broadband Internet project entails a $22.5 million grant from the National Telecommunications and Information

Administration, which will be distributed between Urbana, Champaign and the University. Urbana would receive $350,000 from the grant and be expected to contribute $555,000 over the next three fiscal years, according to the plan’s overview.

Mike Monson, Urbana’s chief of staff, said the policy and technical committees have already started meeting. The technical committee’s top priority is to decide within the next month where the fiber rings will be located. The environmental assessment for the project is due by July 1.

“I’m optimistic,” Monson added. “It’s a huge undertaking. It sounds like everyone is going at it with a good, collaborative effort.”

He added that the University has contributed to 98 percent of the effort in getting and responding to the project’s application process.

“U of I had to take the lead, but they’re taking city considerations into account, and that’s what we hope for,” Monson said. “It was astounding – the amount of work involved. You want it to be a true partnership, and it seems that they want it too.”

The Urbana City Council also approved a plan April 12 to hire consultants to develop an Olympian Drive plan, despite protests from Urbana residents. The plan would extend the already existing Olympian Drive, a six-mile road expanding west to Rising Road and east to U.S. Route 45 that is located north of I-74 in Champaign, into Urbana.

However, residents said the expansion would have negative effects on family-run farms. According to a council memorandum, the Illinois Department of Transportation awarded Champaign and Urbana a $5 million program grant for the project, which would cost an estimated $27.5 million. The plan also states the Olympian Drive project will create 3,000 to 8,000 jobs over the next 30 years.

Bill Gray, Urbana public works director, said the local agency agreement signed by the two cities was sent off to the department for approval. The second phase of the project will include a public engagement session and survey work, comprising of geotechnical engineering and highway, drainage and bridge design.

“We hope that between all the stake holders there will be good understanding of concerns from opponents of the project,” Gray said.

“And those opponents will understand the support of this project.”

As the geotechnical engineering component entails determining the constituency of the soil, the drainage part will look at storm water run-off, he added.

“It’s an important project for the community as a whole,” Gray said.

However, there are still some reservations about the project.

“I’m very reserved about it,” said Charlie Smyth, Ward 1. “I need to see an economic analysis of the project. (It should) lead to a neutral to positive outcome for the city.”

Smyth said city staff will be presenting the economic analysis and developmental ends of Olympian Drive in two to four weeks.

There are different phases of the plan being considered, such as building a bridge over the railroad tracks to north Lincoln Avenue or restructuring the avenue. The plan would straighten out Lincoln Avenue, make it “truck-travel-able,” make it useful to industrial development and construct a road in an easy “S” shape, Smyth added.