Aurora Beacon-News
July 6, 2005
By Matthew DeFour
STAFF WRITER
YORKVILLE &emdash; The Kendall County Board narrowly voted Tuesday in favor of a proposed Prairie Parkway alignment that has received widespread support in the Fox Valley.
By a 6-4 margin, the board passed a resolution supporting one of 10 routes suggested by the Illinois Department of Transportation for an outer-belt expressway.
The preferred route, identified in IDOT's Prairie Parkway Preliminary Engineering Study as option "B5," would diagonally connect Interstates 88 and 80, crossing the Fox River between Plano and Silver Springs State Park.
IDOT identified the B5 route in July 2002 as a protected corridor for the Prairie Parkway, but conceived hundreds of alternatives. After releasing a revised study April 28, the department sought public reaction to 10 expressways and six road-widening projects.
June 30 was the last official day for public comment, though IDOT's Prairie Parkway Project Engineer Rick Powell said they will continue to accept feedback as they narrow the options. He said by September IDOT will present another list and entertain more public comments.
The B5 plan is 43 miles long and one of the two costliest proposals, but it is also one of the most compatible with the current land usage, according to the engineering study.
"I haven't been in favor of that alignment," said Kendall County Board President John Church, who voted against the resolution. "I always thought it should have been a more easterly alignment."
Board members raised concerns about preselecting an alignment before the final engineering report is complete, but even the dissenters agreed the parkway is necessary.
The vote echoed the opinion of municipalities in the affected area. Mayors in Sugar Grove, Plano and Yorkville sent letters to IDOT supporting the B5 proposal.
"I have seen no compelling evidence to deviate from the original route," Plano Mayor William Roberts wrote.
Sandwich passed a resolution rejecting the westernmost proposals and asking IDOT to keep the parkway east of Plano. Oswego and Montgomery, on the other hand, rejected the easternmost plans, citing development that has already begun along Orchard and Grove roads.
Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay sent IDOT a letter that urged the state to consider environmental factors in making its decision.
"The county does not want this corridor to be a catalyst for development in the areas that the County Board has designated as agriculture preservation," McConnaughay wrote.
Kane County passed a resolution in 2002 opposing the protected corridor alignment and stating that "no corridor siting should occur until a purpose and needs assessment is performed with participation from all units of local government."
McConnaughay said Tuesday that the county does not support a specific plan and wants to keep these issues in front of the state.
"We really didn't choose," McConnaughay said. "We just want a seat at the table when those discussions take place."
7/6/05