Supercharger - Effingham, IL

[jthompson]

Got my first photo this afternoon. Looks like construction is underway, and that might even be the Supercharger hardware in that open truck.

John, you ROCK!!

 

[jvonbokel]

Wow, these people need to get out more. They've obviously never been to Tifton, GA or Lake City, FL. Metropolitan and those cities and have never been spoken in the same sentence in history!

Santee, SC? Metropolitan area?

I think they were referring to Illinois only, but either way, they're clearly looking at a different map than we are, because they also said these will be the first outside Chicago, but Normal, IL was the first in the state, and Springfield opened just a month or so ago.

 

[FlasherZ]

I think they were referring to Illinois only, but either way, they're clearly looking at a different map than we are, because they also said these will be the first outside Chicago, but Normal, IL was the first in the state, and Springfield opened just a month or so ago.

Those are still metro areas (Bloomington/Normal, Rockford, and Springfield, in addition to Chicago-land). Effingham isn't exactly on that same level.

 

[jvonbokel]

Those are still metro areas (Bloomington/Normal, Rockford, and Springfield, in addition to Chicago-land). Effingham isn't exactly on that same level.

Certainly not, I guess I was thinking of 1m+ population. It occurs to me have no idea what the definition of a "metropolitan area" is. This is the original quote:

"According to the Tesla website, Effingham will have the first Tesla charging stations in Illinois outside the Chicago metropolitan area, where there are four such stations. A review of a location map on the website shows that the Effingham stations will be the company's first outside any metropolitan area."

So the first sentence is plainly wrong. The second one could be considered true if you give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they meant to say "outside any metropolitan area, but within Illinois".

 

[FlasherZ]

So the first sentence is plainly wrong. The second one could be considered true if you give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they meant to say "outside any metropolitan area, but within Illinois".

I stand corrected.

 

[jvonbokel]

It occurs to me have no idea what the definition of a "metropolitan area" is.

I got curious, and wouldn't you know it, there's a Wikipedia article that lists all the metropolitan areas in the US, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget.

Illinois "metropolitan areas": Chicago, Rockford, Peoria, Springfield, Champaign, Bloomington, Carbondale, Kankakee, Decatur, and Danville
Illinois "micropolitan areas": Ottawa, Quincy, Dixon, Charleston (not Mattoon?), Sterling, Rochelle, Galesburg, Freeport, Jacksonville, Centralia, Mt Vernon, Pontiac, Canton, Taylorville, Effingham, Macomb, and Lincoln

P.S. Is it bad form to quote yourself?

 

[wws]

I got curious, and wouldn't you know it, there's a Wikipedia article that lists all the metropolitan areas in the US, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget.

Illinois "metropolitan areas": Chicago, Rockford, Peoria, Springfield, Champaign, Bloomington, Carbondale, Kankakee, Decatur, and Danville
Illinois "micropolitan areas": Ottawa, Quincy, Dixon, Charleston (not Mattoon?), Sterling, Rochelle, Galesburg, Freeport, Jacksonville, Centralia, Mt Vernon, Pontiac, Canton, Taylorville, Effingham, Macomb, and Lincoln

Don't forget the Davenport, Iowa metropolitan area #107 - about half of which is in Illinois.

P.S. Is it bad form to quote yourself?

Not a problem.

 

[wycolo]

Kankakee, really??

Quad Cities have their own unique category, Twin Cities being the only other such that I can recall.
--

 

[wws]

... Quad Cities have their own unique category...

Having grown up in the area, I would wholeheartedly agree!

 

[Fezzik]

Any more updates on the Effingham place? I thought it was supposed to be done at the end of March?

 

[Devin Henderson]

Pictures for your viewing pleasure. My parents live here so I asked them to take some pictures for us.

- - - Updated - - -

these pictures aren't sideways on my computer. *sigh

 

[jthompson]

Pictures for your viewing pleasure. My parents live here so I asked them to take some pictures for us. These pictures aren't sideways on my computer. *sigh

No worries - thanks, Devin (and thank your folks!)!

 

[Fezzik]

Thanks Devin. I find that if you open the pictures on your computer and rotate sideways and back to upright, then post it will be correct. Weird, I know.

 

[Cottonwood]

these pictures aren't sideways on my computer. *sigh

The phone saves the JPEG in a single orientation, then attaches a meta tag that says which way it is rotated. For some reason, the web server for TMC and/or most browsers don't read that meta tag. The solution is to edit the picture in any way, then save it on your computer. Most computers rotate the image and save without use of the rotation meta tag. I find resizing to 1,000 pixels or so on the large dimension, is a good edit that also reduces upload and view times.

Thanks for the photos.

 

[JKerensky]

I think it's kind of funny that when I drive from STL to Ohio and back in a gas car, I usually stop at this gas station. Once this is open, I'll still be stopping here in my electric car.

 

[jvonbokel]

Pictures for your viewing pleasure. My parents live here so I asked them to take some pictures for us.

Nice update! Looks like they're making good progress. And I think I see a transformer in that first pic (see circle below), which is often a sticking point, so that should help things go smoothly.

 

[basf_audio]

Looks like this one will most likely be finished before St Charles will be. - Can't wait to see it finished! Opening day road trip!! Of course - there will be thousands of Super Chargers open before we see Columbia, MO even get started!

 

[Fezzik]

I think it said in an article that it will be completed end of march. Does anyone have an ETA on it going online?

 

[jvonbokel]

No ETA, but according to these new pics (taken today) by another owner passing through, it looks very close. Hopefully somebody with more knowledge of how these things shake out can add more info, but I think all it needs is a meter (3rd photo). The poles surrounding the transformer appear to be for collision prevention. I assume they'll be filled with concrete and painted yellow.

 

[jvonbokel]

My dad also just happened to be in Effingham today, so I asked him to stop by. He just called and said he'd talked to a contractor working on-site who said he thought power would be turned on in a day or two, and the station would be open in a week or two. He didn't explain what the difference was, or why there would be a week or two between power on and opening. The only thing I can think of is that the power company could turn it on, but then Tesla may have to send somebody (from St Louis or Chicago?) to test it before it can be opened to the public.