Toll on task force's mind

Government officials and frustrated drivers have spent the past decade yearning for traffic relief when crossing the Fox River.

And for the first time -- on Thursday -- a task force will convene to start figuring out how much it'll cost you to make that trip across the future Longmeadow Parkway Bridge, which will serve as the anchor of a new regional connector between Carpentersville's east side and Huntley.

Organized by the Kane County Board, the nine-member group includes representatives from Algonquin, Carpentersville, East Dundee and West Dundee, along with Kane and McHenry county board members.

Tolls would pay for part of the $88 million project, which would extend Longmeadow Parkway at the southern end of Algonquin, cross the Fox River and run alongside Bolz Road in Carpentersville.

The 2005 federal transportation package gave the project just $4 million for land acquisition and engineering.

According to Algonquin Village Manager Bill Ganek, Thursday's meeting will be goal setting.

"We know we have to redo the traffic counts and complete a financial analysis of what kind of funds the tolls are expected to generate, and if that will that pay off the bonds used for financing the project," he said.

Equipping the tollbooths to accept I-PASS is also a crucial part of the equation, Ganek said.

Ten municipalities, along with McHenry County, have adopted resolutions supporting the toll bridge, but have made it clear that they want the toll to be removed once construction costs had been paid.

If the project moves forward with a funding plan, the bridge could open to traffic within the next five years, officials estimate. The bridge would be the first altogether new river crossing in the area since the Northwest Tollway extension was constructed in the 1950s.

The tax force is expected to meet on a regular basis for the next six months, before presenting its findings to the Kane County Board as a package.