Cary plans road improvement for Jandus Cut Off?

After getting a sizable state grant, the village of Cary is moving forward with a road project to improve access to one of its major industrial parks, officials said.

The village got a $450,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for the $1.4 million project to improve the intersection of Northwest Highway and Jandus Cut Off Road, Village Administrator Christopher Clark said.

The project is aimed at allowing better access for trucks into what is known as Cary Industrial Park, Clark said.

“Right now trucks that head southbound or northbound (on Northwest Highway) to go west on Jandus Cut Off Road cannot easily make that turn without encroaching upon the other lane of traffic,” Clark said.

The board approved this week a $91,000 engineering contract with HR Green of McHenry to finalize the design and create construction plans, Clark said. The firm was one of two interviewed among those that submitted bids for the project, he said.

The village is seeking other funding sources to cover the remaining $1 million or so cost of the project, Clark said. The intersection is within its Tax Increment Financing District 1, whose fund has about $350,000 in unallocated money. The overall fund balance is about $500,000, he said.

The village is now working to find additional grant sources, possibly from the federal government, Clark said. The village could cover the remaining costs with an interfund loan, or by issuing bonds to be paid with TIF money over the years, Clark added. TIF District 1 yields about $120,000 in revenue each year, he said.

Construction will likely begin in fall 2013 or spring 2014, he said. The village applied for the grant in 2009.

“We spent a good portion of February and March working with local legislators. We spent time in Springfield working to get the project funded,” Clark said. “It will be a positive improvement for the industrial park, and also for the future development of the village of Cary.”