Shovel-Ready CTA

Vies for stimulus funds

By Steve Rhodes
|  Wednesday, Jul 22, 2009  |  Updated 2:26 PM CST
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Shovel-Ready CTA

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The CTA has plenty of shoveling to do.

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CTA chairwoman Carole Brown told a U.S. House committee last month that her agency has $500 million in "shovel-ready" projects. The CTA Tattler reports this week that Brown has yet to be guaranteed any money - though it doubts she would have any problem spending half a billion dollars rather quickly. We don't think it would be a problem either. Here are some of the shovel-ready projects we suspect are in store.

- PR money to shovel the BS after giving top managers raises again.

- New fare card design depicting Mayor Daley in flowing robes.

- Funds to remove Ron Huberman's name from all the stationery.

- Mondy to dig more evacuation routes from underground El lines that riders will never be told about.

- New $499 million CTA headquarters.

- Five hundred shovels to dig buses out of snow banks.

- A new program re-instituting slow zones.

- A $500 million down-payment on finishing the CTA Superstation at Block 37.

- Walking around money for election day.

- At least $25 million for a new program that will reimburse CTA executives for their gas expenses from driving to work.

- Seed money for the mayor's new CTA TIF.

- Construction of the new Gold Line, which will connect the Gold Coast to North Michigan Avenue.

- Welcome to Mayor Richard M. Daley's Open Road Tolling!

Posted Wednesday, Jul 22, 2009 - 2:26 PM CST
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