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Aurora Beacon-News
January 18, 2002
Federal appropriation: $15 million would cover Phase I studies
By Dave Parro STAFF WRITER
Leading outer-belt highway opponents are wondering why the state and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert failed
to announce that $15 million is earmarked for first-phase studies of the proposed Prairie Parkway.
A bill containing the congressional appropriation for the highway was signed into law in mid-December, designating
funds for National Corridor Planning and Development Program projects. The outer-belt connector through Kane and
Kendall counties is listed among more than 120 other projects and activities eligible for funding in fiscal year
2002.
The money available for the 33-mile Prairie Parkway, connecting Interstates 88 and 80, would cover a Phase I study,
which would include environmental, traffic and need assessments.
"I think it's very curious that, on something as prominent in the news, when there's a $15 million grant sitting
there, people wouldn't be talking about it," said Jan Strasma, spokesman for the highway opponent group Citizens
Against the Sprawlway.
Strasma said he questions why Illinois Department of Transportation representatives said, at the Conservation Foundation
meeting earlier this month, that there currently is no highway funding. A member of the opposition group came across
the funding line this week on the Web site of the Federal Highway Administration.
Gregg Mounts, program development engineer in IDOT's Ottawa district, said local IDOT officials had heard funding
might be available but had no solid information. The Springfield IDOT office coordinates all federal funding.
Springfield spokesman Dick Adorjan said the funding has been earmarked, but IDOT will not receive the money until
a corridor is set and the state turns in an application. He said IDOT officials were correct when they said no
part of the project has received funding.
The state has the necessary $3.7 million to match the federal funds, Adorjan said, another criteria for the appropriation.
A Phase I study, which could take five to six years, would cost $15 million to $20 million.
"We intend to (apply) as soon as we complete the corridor assessment," Adorjan said.
The state has set a Feb. 10 deadline for public comments on the Prairie Parkway, but Adorjan said there is no date
set for the legal recording of the 400-foot corridor-protection area.
Strasma also criticized Hastert, R-Yorkville, for not announcing the funding. Hastert has been a leading supporter
of the highway.
Hastert spokesman Pete Jeffries said from Washington Thursday that the funding was "old news," considering
the bill passed the U.S. House in mid-July. Hastert never has hidden his intention to secure funding for the project,
representatives said.
"People on both sides of the issue have asked for a study," Hastert spokesman John McGovern said. "However,
these funds are available only to conduct Phase I engineering, which is necessary to determine the feasibility
of a road project."
If the highway is feasible, Hastert then will work to secure further funding for construction, McGovern said.
Kane County Board Chairman Mike McCoy said the county had no knowledge of the funding through House Resolution
2299. McCoy speculated that IDOT is moving quickly to set a corridor so the project will be eligible for funding
this year.
"For me, it's a real stretch for them to say they knew nothing about this," McCoy said.
Hastert representatives said his office does not announce every federal appropriation. Adorjan said IDOT has not
even yet received notification of the funding from the Federal Highway Administration.