The short list of state-suggested transportation alternatives for the far western suburbs is scheduled to be unveiled at public meetings next month.
The alternatives, which are expected to include a proposed north-south freeway connecting Interstate Highways 88 and 80 in Kane, Kendall and Grundy Counties, are a product of a lengthy paring process that resulted in the elimination of dozens of proposals.
The list of alternatives being proposed for further engineering and environmental studies was evaluated by the Illinois Department of Transportation based on the ability of each to increase mobility, address local deficiencies, improve safety and improve access to jobs out of the area. The public meetings are scheduled from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Oct. 4 and 5 in Yorkville Middle School in Yorkville and White Oak Elementary School in Morris.
“We have reached a significant decision point in the Prairie Parkways Study. The alternatives … represent the best balance for providing the most travel benefits, the greatest compatibility with local land-use plans and the least environmental and development impacts,” said Gregg Mounts, Illinois Department of Transportation deputy director of highways.
In the more than two years since the state began its five-year, $18 million study, IDOT planners have maintained they are not predisposed to concluding that the north-south freeway plan being advanced by U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert is the only or best transportation option for the fast-growing area.
“We will be identifying what specific transportation infrastructure upgrade is necessary for that region,” IDOT spokesman Matt Vanover said last month after the signing of a federal transportation bill that included $207 million to begin work on a new north-south freeway west of Illinois Highway 47.
“We haven’t defined what the `Prairie Parkway’ is,” Vanover said.
The options IDOT planners expect to unveil next month were culled from a list of more than 150 suggestions the agency received last summer from area residents, employers and local officials. The list was pared to about 20 potential congestion-fighting alternatives.
Among the final options considered by IDOT, including various routes for a freeway link, were a mix of solutions that included a combination of arterial highways and freeways, some new transit options as well as several relatively low-cost projects, such as bicycle trails.
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