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Aurora Beacon-News
August 1, 2002
Five adjustments: Most significant revision is in southern Kendall County
By Dave Parro
STAFF WRITER
YORKVILLE ó The state's revised Prairie Parkway corridor follows almost the same route as the one first proposed
late last year, with the exception of five relatively minor adjustments along the proposed highway's path.
The modified central alignment, announced by Illinois Secretary of Transportation Kirk Brown at a press conference
Wednesday morning, closes an eight-month debate about the location of the 400-foot-wide corridor linking Interstates
88 and 80.
The Illinois Department of Transportation stayed with its original central corridor despite calls to reconsider
an eastern alternative.
"It was clear from this analysis to us that we shouldn't be considering the eastern corridor," Brown
said in a crowded room of more than 100 reporters and residents. "It has way too many impacts compared to
the central corridor."
The state originally proposed three corridors for the highway through Kane, Kendall and Grundy counties. The
western route between Plano and Sandwich and the central route between Yorkville and Plano both started near Kaneville
in the north and ended in Morris and Minooka, respectively; the eastern corridor ran south between Aurora and Sugar
Grove before ending in Minooka.
The central corridor was the state's preferred route because it runs through largely undeveloped areas but still
lies far enough east to serve the Chicago metropolitan area as a beltway.
The biggest change to the outer belt's modified central alignment unveiled Wednesday is in southern Kendall County,
where the corridor was adjusted to limit splitting of agricultural land.
Instead of diagonally cutting southeast south of Route 71 until ending in Minooka, the new route now follows
a series of right angles to stay along farm property lines.
Where possible, it also follows the power line structures to the west of the original alignment, something residents
had requested.
"Instead of having two separate corridors ó a transportation and power corridor ó they will abut each other
in that area," said James Jereb, district engineer for IDOT's Ottawa district.
The southern changes will add three miles to the length of the proposed highway, making it almost 36 miles long.
The other four changes are so minor they won't drastically alter the physical characteristics of the road.
The corridor was also straightened at the Fox River crossing in Yorkville, adjusted to run along a Commonwealth
Edison right-of-way near the Plano Menards warehouse, moved to the east near Route 30 to avoid the Dauberman Road
extension project near Big Rock, and moved to the east near Kaneville to avoid splitting a sod farm.
Residential impact
The new alignment affects six new homes besides the original three, with one being added at the Fox River, three
near the Dauberman shift and two near Interstate 88. The corridor runs through a total of 193 parcels of land,
two more than the December proposal.
IDOT cited numbers comparing the residential impacts of the eastern and central corridors in finding its central
route superior. The modified central corridor impacts nine homes, four existing platted lots and no active subdivisions.
The IDOT eastern alternative would have impacted 32 homes, 126 platted lots and 91 acres of subdivision development.
Brown said IDOT also considered the alignment proposed by Kane County Board Chairman Mike McCoy, which called
for a compromise in combining the eastern route in Kane County and the central route in Kendall and Grundy counties.
It was ruled out because it would result in a "U"-shaped road between the interstates, which Brown said
would defeat the purpose of a regional road.
"It made no sense to choose a corridor with a bow in it," Brown said.
IDOT planned to file the official record of hearing with all three counties later Wednesday. The record and nearly
1,500 submitted public comments also will be available for viewing at libraries in Yorkville, Sugar Grove and Morris.
Information is also available on IDOT's Web site under the projects heading at [WEB SITE].
On to engineering
Brown said IDOT will apply immediately for $15 million in federal funds for a Phase I preliminary engineering study,
which would begin in the fall and could take up to five years. The road's construction is still at least a decade
away, but Brown emphasized Wednesday that corridor protection is necessary to ensure a future right-of-way if the
road gets built.
"We use corridor protection so we can protect the corridor while we're doing (studies) so we don't need
to spend millions of dollars more to protect against development," he said.
Affected landowners will be notified via certified mail of the state's decision, which will get attached to their
property deeds.
If a property owner wants to sell his land, the state has the right to a first offer, and the state would also
offer compensation if an owner is unable to market his property. Otherwise, the corridor-protection process has
little real affect on land.
Brown said there are no plans at this time to move forward with the northern section of the outer belt, which
would connect Interstates 88 and 90.