Kane County Chronicle
October 5, 2005
By PAUL DAILING
ORKVILLE &emdash; Kaneville resident Warren Cooke, 76, remembers a road project that planners said would not spur sprawl &emdash; Randall Road.
"It was supposed to be a high-speed route," Cooke said.
Cooke was one of dozens of residents who went to Yorkville on Tuesday night for a public information session regarding two alternatives to the Prairie Parkway protected corridor. The state identified the corridor, which cuts from Interstate 88 near Kaneville to Interstate 80 near Minooka, in July 2002.
By law, the Illinois Department of Transportation must investigate alternatives. IDOT opted for two new freeway routes &emdash; known as B2 and B5 &emdash; rather than widening pre-existing roads.
Powell said building a freeway with limited access would create less sprawl than widening a road with numerous existing access points.
"Certainly, a four-lane Route 47 would be more attractive to commercial growth," Powell said.
Cooke, a lifelong area resident, disagreed.
"Every time they put up more places for people to go to and to get to, they put up more houses," he said.
Powell said drivers would be able to get on and off the Prairie Parkway from Interstates 88 and 80 and state routes 30, 34, 71, 52 and, in the case of B5 and the protected corridor, Route 47.
However, Powell said the limited access would make the road better for people passing through than for locals.
"If you can separate the regional traffic off the local traffic on 47, we think that would be an improvement," Powell said.
Frank Lawrence, 44, of Sandwich, called the project "a waste of taxpayer money" that would not improve north-south traffic. The federal transportation bill President Bush signed in August earmarked $207 million for the parkway project.
"Why would anyone who lives east (of the parkway) travel west to travel east again?" Lawrence said.
B2, B5 and the protected corridor follow the same path through Kane County. In Kendall County, the paths differ. B2 cuts straight south, hitting I-80 west of Morris.
Powell said the main advantage of B2 is that it would make the road 7 percent to 8 percent shorter, saving construction money. However, it would cut into more farmland than the other options and not offer sufficient access to the eastern towns to which many commute, Powell said.
B5 and the protected corridor both swoop east to Minooka. Powell said the two routes, while similar, are not the same.
"(B5) may deviate as much as 2 to 3 miles from the protected corridor," Powell said.
Powell said he expects other groups to widen Route 47 by 2030. The B5 and B2 plans call for widening Route 47 from Caton Farm Road to Route 80 in Kendall County.
Speak Out
IDOT will hold the second of two public comment sessions on the proposed Prairie Parkway alternatives 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. today at White Oak Elementary School, 2001 Dupont Avenue, Morris, Illinois 60450