The Naperville City Council has pledged its support to extend 95th Street, as long as someone else foots most of the bill.
For two decades, officials from Naperville, Bolingbrook and Will County had planned to extend the roadway from where it ends at Knock Knolls Road to about a mile southeast, to Boughton Road, to allow drivers to enter Interstate Highway 55.
The proposed expansion would also include a bridge over the DuPage River.
But partly because of the estimated $23 million price tag, City Manager Peter Burchard two years ago wondered whether there were cheaper alternatives, such as widening other roads and creating turn lanes in still others. The city also had environmental concerns because Native American arrowheads and other artifacts were found at the proposed site.
Two Will County Board members asked the City Council at a recent meeting to support the extension because of the area’s heavy traffic.
“There has been study after study calling for the 95th Street extension,” said County Board member Susan Riley, whose district includes parts of Naperville. “By 2020, 49 to 53 percent of travel in Will County will be on a congested roadway.”
But it wasn’t studies and requests that changed Naperville officials’ minds on the project. According to a new proposed breakdown in costs, Naperville would pay significantly less for the road than previously suggested, Burchard said.
The current breakdown assumes that federal and state grants would pay half the project’s cost, or about $11.5 million. Will County has agreed to pay 25 percent with the Village of Bolingbrook and City of Naperville each contributing 12.5 percent.
The projected cost to Naperville is about $2.8 million, whereas previous proposals called for Naperville to take the lead on spending, Burchard said.
“I’ve come to decide that I think the extension is important,” said council member Mary Ellingson.
But fellow council member Richard Furstenau noted, “I think this is a Will County road, and Will County should carry the water” in paying for it.
Furstenau voted for the motion supporting the extension passed by the council.
Will County is committed to buying land for the road. The Will state’s attorney’s office wants to negotiate with the landowner, a developer, to buy about 5 acres for the road, and the office will continue with condemnation proceedings, if necessary, said John Urban, chief of the office’s civil division.
Urban said a previous condemnation suit was filed prematurely by his office and must be withdrawn.
Will County Board member Terri Wintermute, who lives in Bolingbrook, said she was pleased with the council’s action. But she said she had hoped city officials would try to force the landowner to donate some land for the road.
The developer is seeking to build the Timber Creek housing subdivision and a small commercial strip mall. The developer will not consider giving away the land, said his lawyer, Bill Brestal.
“Don’t even ask,” Brestal said.
But Brestal said he would negotiate with Will County for a fair price on the land.
Also at the meeting, neighbors of the proposed subdivision complained about a small commercial area that is planned for the site, saying it is not necessary and would contribute to traffic.
