Kane County Chronicle
April 29, 2005
By PAUL DAILING
YORKVILLE — The Illinois Department of Transportation has alternatives to the Prairie Parkway, but some wonder
if they will be used.
On Wednesday, IDOT representatives unveiled a number of transportation corridors that could be improved to better
connect Interstate 88, which runs through Kane County, to Interstate 80 in Grundy County.
The search for alternatives is required by the federal government as part of an $18 million study of the Prairie
Parkway, a proposed 35-mile route between the interstates that would cut from near Kaneville to near Minooka. The
six-year study began in 2003.
In July 2002, the state identified a path for the parkway and placed restrictions on property to prevent development
within the corridor.
Opponents of the parkway, also called the Outer Beltway, see the restrictions placed on property as devaluing their
land. They also contend that the highway will promote sprawl in prime farmland.
IDOT Program Development Engineer Clarita Lao said that the study is trying to find the best way to improve transportation
between the highways, whether that is the parkway or another route.
"We need to identify a solution to a transportation deficiency," she said.
Jan Strasma, chairman of Citizens Against the Sprawlway, said he saw the alternatives at an IDOT presentation April
14.
He said he commends IDOT for getting the information out to the communities but worries that the alternatives might
not be used.
"The law says that you have to consider alternatives, but the fact still remains that this is called the 'Prairie
Parkway study' not the 'best solution for Kane and Kendall counties study,'" he said.
The study examined locations for possible freeways and at existing arterial roads that could be widened and improved.
However, the study showed each plan would have pitfalls.
Freeways would better handle traffic problems, but arterial improvements would have fewer environmental impacts,
said Edward Leonard of Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade and Douglas Inc., the primary consultant on the study.
"It's basically a trade-off," project engineer Rick Powell said.
He said the six proposed arterial road improvements and nine proposed freeway routes were based on more than 150
suggestions from participants in workshops and county or municipal stakeholder meetings.
For example, Powell said a freeway route running south from Sugar Grove partly alongside a ComEd power line was
based on a proposal by former Kane County Board Chairman Mike McCoy.
"The one thing we did differently here was instead of bending it back to the east, we sent it straight south,"
Powell said.
The study also considered the effects of increased public transit and of current improvement projects on Route
47 and on the component roads of the WiKaDuKe trail. The trail is named for the counties through which it runs
— Will, Kane, DuPage and Kendall.
The next step in the study will be to gather public comment on the alternatives they outlined. They will use that
input to pare down the number of options into a "manageable number," Lao said.
"We haven't done any screening yet because IDOT wants the public's opinion," Powell said.
Public information sessions are scheduled for May 10 in Sugar Grove and May 11 in Morris.
For information about the study, visit www.prairie-parkway.com.
Infobox:
IDOT will hold two public information session about Prairie Parkway alternatives:
5:30 to 8 p.m. May 10 at Kaneland John Shields Elementary School, 85 South Main Street, Sugar Grove.
5:30 to 8 p.m. May 11 at White Oak Elementary School, 2001 DuPont Avenue, Morris.
For more information contact the Illinois Department of Transportation, 700 East Norris Drive, Ottawa, or call
(815) 434-8435.
Infobox:
Road widening alternatives:
West county line
Freeway alternatives (from I-88 south to I-80):
Four proposed points along I-88 could be connected to five proposed points along I-80 by nine possible routes.
In Kane County, there are three proposed access points along I-88:
The fourth I-88 access is by Naperville.