SpringfieldNewsSun.com

Urbana, Ohio — More than $774 million in federal transportation stimulus funds will be spent on projects statewide, but Champaign County's share will only be about $50,000.

Champaign County and the city of Urbana had submitted proposals for a U.S. 68 bypass that would have created a four-lane highway north from Dallas Road to U.S. 36, and from U.S. 36 to the intersection of U.S. 68 and Ohio 296. That project, as well as several others submitted by the county and the city, will have to wait for future funding.

Instead, the county's transit system will receive $1,700 for a power washer, and $33,000 for a minivan, which will allow one of the older vans to become a spare. It also will get $15,000 for capital maintenance, including oil changes.

However, Champaign Transit System Director Gary Ledford said he was pleasantly surprised with the money his office received, and that the $15,000 is likely a budgetary move by the Ohio Department of Transportation, and not new money.

"This was a year when we didn't think we were going to get anything new," he said.

County Engineer Fereidoun Shokouhi said with close to $800 million in funding, the county should have received a bigger share. Officials have been pushing hard for the U.S. 68 project, which Shokouhi says is crucial to the county's future economic success.

"Champaign County is the only county in (Ohio Congressional) District Four that did not receive a dime of transportation funding through the stimulus plan," he said, adding that the county had also asked for projects that included paving roads and two bridge repair projects.

Urbana Development Planner Melanie Kendrick said while she was hoping to see more of the stimulus money, the stimulus fund was designed for projects that could begin soon. While an engineering study had been done on the U.S. 68 bypass, it was done several years ago.

Kendrick said the city would have had a better chance of securing stimulus dollars, but did not have the additional money needed up front to make sure projects would be ready immediately.

Staff Writer Samantha Sommer contributed to this report.