When suburban sprawl began hurdling the natural Kane County obstacle that is the Fox River, it left traffic planners with the unenviable task of imagining ways to provide road access over the waterway for an increasing number of residents whose homes now sit in former farm fields.
That process took a step forward recently when highway planners mapped out proposals to Kane County Board members for as many as five new Fox River crossings. The board reviewed a draft version of an environmental impact statement for the group of projects presented by the county’s Transportation Division.
Jeff Dailey, the division’s director, told board members the 22 bridges that now span the river in Kane will reach critical congestion levels as early as 2009. Kane’s population is expected to surpass 500,000 by 2020, up from 317,000 in 1990.
“If we build (bridges), it might provide a little more of a catalyst” to growth, Dailey said. “But the development is going to happen.”
The spans under discussion include a $55 million plan to build at Bolz Road, from Algonquin Road to Huntley Road, a 5.6-mile stretch; a $66 million plan to extend Stearns Road about 4 miles from the DuPage County line to Randall Road on the west side of the Fox; and a proposal to run Red Gate Road 4 miles from the area of Randall Road across the Fox, at one of three crossing points, to Army Trail Road on the east side of the river, for up to $77 million.
Also included are a 1.9-mile improvement of Dean Street, from Randall Road across the river to Illinois Highway 64, for $26 million; and a $34 million plan to extend Illinois Highway 56 across the river between Orchard Road and the area of Kirk Road, a project of 5.2 miles.
Dailey said the sites were selected because they are considered key areas in which to redistribute traffic flow, slow congestion, link regional roads and best serve local areas. The projects would alter roads in Algonquin, Carpentersville, South Elgin, Wayne, St. Charles, North Aurora and Aurora.
The plan is an outgrowth of work done by the Fox River Bridge Advisory Committee, formed in 1990 with the help of U.S. Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). The study behind the environmental impact statement winnowed a list of nine possible crossing points left by that group. Kane County and the Illinois Department of Transportation drove the study, which was performed by a battery of consulting firms.
Delivery of the draft statement opens a public comment period on the document, Dailey said. The board will accept public comments until Aug. 12 and begin work to set a priority on the projects in the fall.
The County Board is expected to begin weighing which, if any, of the proposed bridges will be built after the public comment period closes and could decide where dirt will be moved before the end of the year. Federal, state and county funds are expected to be poured into the projects, but land acquisition likely will not begin until at least 1999.
Dailey said completion of a draft of the environmental impact statement will set the wheels in motion to bring in federal assistance for the bridge projects.
Copies of the report will be available at public libraries and municipal government centers in eastern Kane County, Dailey said, and will be available on the Internet at www.kcdot.org.
Board members chose not to debate the projects until after the public has a chance to review the proposals. They already know that each site could trigger controversy as residents opposed to proposed spans have not been hesitant to voice their opinions. The projects could displace homes and businesses and threaten wetland areas and structures eligible for registration as historic sites.
The only board debate centered on the estimated cost of the proposed projects. The average price is about $50 million for each crossing, but only $13 million of that is anticipated for the span itself.
Dailey said the remaining average cost of $37 million per project would go toward the expanded roadway approaches necessary on either side of each bridge, as well as toward engineering and land-acquisition costs.
“That information should be part of the public presentation,” said board member John Hoscheit (R-St. Charles).
Other board members said the panel should look only at the cost of building the bridges in order to avoid running up the total price of the projects. The board was warned against that option, with Dailey and others saying additional infrastructure needs to be in place to handle traffic on either side of the spans.
The board has scheduled four public hearings on the environmental impact statement. The meetings will be held from 2 to 9 p.m.: on July 14 in Wredling Middle School, 255 Red Gate Rd., St. Charles; July 16 at the Mooseheart campus, Mooseheart Road west of Illinois Highway 31, near Batavia; July 22 at the Randall Oaks Golf Club, 37W361 Binnie Rd., West Dundee; and July 28 in the Kane County Government Center, Illinois Highway 31 and 3rd Street, Geneva.
