Aurora Beacon-News
November 10, 2006
• Hastert 'demotion' renews debate on I-80 to I-88 connector
• Residents have two more chances to weigh in next month
By MATTHEW DEFOUR Staff writer
YORKVILLE -- Residents have one last chance to weigh in on the
Prairie Parkway before a path is chosen for the proposed north-south
freeway -- a project that may or may not be affected financially by
Dennis Hastert's exit as speaker of the U.S. House.
Hastert, the main proponent of the parkway, earmarked $207 million in
the 2005 federal transportation bill and the state is obligated to
match about $60 million for the project, which is expected to cost at
least $1 billion. Both U.S. senators and all 21 members of the Illinois
House delegation supported the legislation.
Prairie Parkway hearings
• When: Dec. 6 and 7 from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
• Where: Yorkville Intermediate School gymnasium, 103 Schoolhouse
Road, Yorkville (Dec. 6); White Oak Elementary School gymnasium, 2001
Dupoint Road, Morris (Dec. 7)
"I haven't heard anything," said Illinois Department of Transportation
engineer Rick Powell about the possible impact of Democrats taking the
majority in Congress on Tuesday. "The earmark is still there, so we're
working just as we were a week ago. We never figured Speaker Hastert
would be there for 50 years. Who is the champion? We don't know.
But the need is there, and we're planning for it."
Parkway opponent Jan Strasma was skeptical that the entire project
could be completed as planned. He speculated that "Hastert's demotion"
makes additional federal funding less likely and reduces Hastert's
influence with Illinois Democrats.
"If he can't deliver the goods for other projects, why humor him on the Prairie Parkway?" Strasma said.
Hastert's office declined to comment. Contacted late Thursday, a
spokeswoman for Rep. Rahm Emmanuel, D-Chicago, said she wouldn't be
able to comment until today, but she had not been asked yet about the
future of the parkway.
Hearings scheduled
IDOT plans to hold public hearings Dec. 6 at the Yorkville Intermediate
School gymnasium and Dec. 7 at the White Oak Elementary School
gymnasium in Morris. Both hearings are scheduled from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
Engineers will present a draft environmental impact study for each of
the proposed routes. Residents also will be able to comment on the
"no-build" option.
The final two parkway route options are identical from I-88 near
Kaneville to Walker Road in Kendall County. From there, the "B-2" route
extends directly south to I-80 east of Morris and the "B-5" route heads
southeast to I-80 near Minooka.
Both routes have planned interchanges at Routes 30, 34, 71 and 52, and
the B-5 would have a fifth interchange at Route 47. The plans also
include widening Route 47 from Caton Farm Road to I-80.
Powell said both routes have their pros and cons, though he has noted
that the more easterly B-5 route has received more favorable reviews
from residents and local officials.
"The B-2 is a little bit more of a regional travel facility, and the
B-5 is more access to jobs," Powell said. "If it goes to the west, it
will be a more favorable route to truckers who are trying to get from
Aurora to the western United States."
Powell said the public hearings in December will be similar to the
meetings in April, when hundreds of people viewed preliminary designs
for the two routes.
Since then, the route has been tweaked to address concerns that were
raised. For example, the path was adjusted to avoid two farmhouses in
Kane County, Powell said.
In Kendall County near Route 71, the proposed route was shifted by a
couple thousand feet to avoid five pipelines. Shifting the alignment
would cost less than trying to go over the pipelines, Powell said.
The interchange at Route 71 also was tweaked to accommodate designs for
the Fox Moraine landfill proposed at Route 71 and Sleepy Hollow Road on
land recently annexed into Yorkville, Powell said.
The major difference from the April hearings will be the draft
environmental impact study, the final piece of the puzzle before an
official route is selected.
That study will be available to the public on Nov. 17 at www.prairie-parkway.com and also in local public libraries.
IDOT is required to open a 45-day public comment period, after which an
official route will be selected and then a final environmental impact
study will be adopted by late 2007. But after Strasma told Powell the
45 days wouldn't be sufficient, IDOT agreed to extend the comment
period to 60 days.
"We continue in our opposition to building the Prairie Parkway,"
Strasma said. "But we're also involved in the process and want to make
sure they have done their homework and have addressed all the issues in
the environmental impact statement."