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Outer-belt study begins now
Info sessions should be first of many for Prairie Parkway
OTTAWA — The study that will ultimately decide whether the Prairie Parkway gets built will begin immediately, the Illinois Department of Transportation announced Friday.
A team of technical experts is set to begin evaluating the need for future transportation improvements in a general study that includes parts of Kane, Kendall, DeKalb, Will and LaSalle counties, IDOT officials said.
Engineers will look at different transportation options for the area, including construction of the 36-mile Prairie Parkway highway connecting Interstates 88 and 80 through Kane, Kendall and Grundy counties. The study also will consider expansion of existing roads and alternative solutions, such as rail, said IDOT program engineer Gregg Mounts.
"What we're trying to find out is what we think the area will look like in 2030," said Mounts, who works out of IDOT's Ottawa office.
The Phase 1 engineering study "will take an in-depth look at the current and future transportation needs in an area that is experiencing increased development and traffic congestion," according to an IDOT press release. The three- to five-year study is being paid for with $15 million in federal funds and another $3.75 million in matching state funds.
Mounts said the next year will be devoted to studying the area and collecting public input to determine future land uses and traffic patterns in the area near the proposed outer-belt highway. IDOT recorded a 400-foot-wide corridor in July through Kane, Kendall and Grundy counties that protects land that could be used for the road against future development.
One of the first steps will be to get information to the public about how the study will proceed, Mounts said. Two open houses will be held in January, when IDOT will present a slide presentation and exhibits and answer questions about the study.
The sessions will be held at 5 p.m. Jan. 22 at Kaneland South Elementary School in Sugar Grove and 4 p.m. Jan. 23 at The Fountains of Minooka in Minooka.
"We want people in the region to have a first-hand look at what the Phase 1 study will entail," said Ottawa District Engineer Jim Jereb. "The study will take a new look at local and regional transportation needs and will not be influenced, or bound by, any prior studies and reports."
Mounts said the Phase 1 study will be broken down into steps, with the first determining how the land will look in 30 years. During the next 12 months, IDOT will also conduct public opinion surveys and focus groups, as well as set up an interactive Web site on the study.
A decision at the end of next year could determine what transportation option IDOT will pursue, Mounts said.
"It really has to be broken down into steps," he said. "We'll have decisions at the end of the first step."
Jan Strasma, spokesman for Citizens Against the Sprawlway, the group that organized a lawsuit against the proposed highway, said that, even though the meetings aren't public hearings to solicit opinions on the proposed highway, the opposition will show up.
"If people are in favor (of the highway), it's a good meeting to go to, too," Strasma said, "but we're going to have a good number of people there who are opposed to it." Contact Dave Parro at (630) 801-5495 or dparro@scn1.com.