Drivers veer onto one of the Whitman Street ramps in Rockford, trying to avoid a bumpy ride.
Smoothing out these bumps and cracks is just one piece of a 5-year capital plan displayed Monday night at Rockford City Hall.
"We have a very aggressive program in 2009 that's been proposed. A large part of that is funded through sales tax," Capital Plan Manager Patrick Zuroske said.
The roughly $225 million plan tackles everything from road repairs to flood control. Joining the "Whitman work" next year is re-surfacing and re-building on Auburn, Charles, and Kishwaukee streets.
Roadwork "topped the talk" among alderman. There was concern that the plan lacks certain roads not classified as major arterials but still get just as much traffic and need work.
"Morgan Street is one. Central Avenue is one definitely one that's used and should be considered arterial," Alderman Linda McNeeley said.
Others say the plan's missing pieces from an earlier version shown to voters last year before the sales tax referendum to pay for road improvements.
"We need to make sure that those voters in all parts of the city are receiving the projects they were told originally," Alderman Joe Sosnowski said.
Alderman decided to hold the plan over for a vote until next week,
ironing out "their bumps in the road" first.
As far as flood control efforts, the plan includes improvements to Keith Creek and the Alpine Dam over the next five years. They're sites that caused major trouble when severe flooding struck Rockford in both 2006 and 2007.
There's bridge work too. A major project there includes work toward a brand new bridge over Morgan Street. And it's possible construction could begin closer toward the end of the plan in 2013.