Home | News Index | Southern Link | Northern Link | How to Oppose | Kane 2020 Plan | Kendall Plan
Elburn Herald
May 16, 2002
by Susan O'Neill
Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Deputy Director of Public Affairs Mike Monseur has confirmed that
Transportation Secretary Kirk Brown plans to make a statement regarding the selection of a centerline for the outer
beltway, otherwise known as the Prairie Parkway, sometime in the first two weeks of June.
The 60-day public comment period regarding the corridor siting ended on Feb. 11, at which time IDOT was to spend
some time reviewing all of the comments prior to siting a corridor. The outerbelt is a proposed 33-mile highway
to connect Interstates 80 and 88.
According to IDOT engineer James Jareb in Ottawa, IDOT is looking at a variety of things related to the proposed
corridor. Jareb is the person to whom the public comments had been addressed.
The first is what modifications might be appropriate to make to the proposed corridor to lessen the impact on property
and section lines, etc. The corridor presented in public meetings drew protest and criticism from property owners
and residents in the area surrounding the proposed corridor. In some cases, farms were to be literally split in
half. In a letter from U.S. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert dated Feb. 7, Hastert acknowledged that the proposed
corridor "directly interrupts farm and residential property lines" in some instances, and that it makes
"good sense" where practical, to site the corridor along existing property lines.
Next, due to the volume of comments regarding the so-called eastern corridor from the public comment period, IDOT
is reevaluating this option to "see if there was anything that they missed the first time through," Jareb
said.
IDOT had initially looked at three potential corridors for the outerbelt before choosing the central route of the
three, which runs from Interstate 80 about six miles west of Interstate 55 near Minooka, crosses and runs west
of Route 47 between Yorkville and Plano, through Sugar Grove, east of Kaneville and meets up with Interstate 88.
The eastern corridor starts out at the same point as the central route west of Interstate 55 near Minooka, but
then goes east of Route 47, runs between Bristol and Oswego and meets up with the intersection of Routes 30 and
56.
IDOT is also reviewing the alternate route proposed by the Kane County Board.
On Jan. 8, the Board had passed a resolution opposing IDOT's specific alignment of the proposed outerbelt freeway,
coming up with its own alternative, which falls east of Route 47, between Orchard Road and Route 47.
A press conference will be scheduled to make the announcement, explained Monseur.
"That's why we can't be more specific about the date," he explained, adding that the department is currently
arranging schedules for the conference.