Bypass progress, or 'Groundhog Day'?

Perhaps McHenry and Kane county motorists will one day look back on the saga of the proposed western Algonquin bypass and cheer the persistence and fortitude that brought it to completion.

For now, however, we're more apt to liken it to the movie "Groundhog Day."

Just like the Bill Murray movie filmed in Woodstock, the same scene seems to replay with frustrating, grating promise. And, like the movie, each piece of road news brings hope that this time will be different. But, each time, it ends up with the same result: We're still waiting.

That said, the recent news that the bypass federal environmental study has been completed does offer a glimmer of hope for frustrated motorists and business and village leaders longing for solutions to the region's growing traffic nightmare.

The ripple effect of Algonquin's clogged corner at the notorious Route 31 and Route 62 intersection is felt throughout northern Kane and southern McHenry County. Traffic ties up along Randall Road, Route 31, Route 47, Route 14, Route 72 and the Jane Addams Tollway as hampered commuters seek a way -- any way -- to get to work and home.

The proposed project, once stymied by a lack of unity from government leaders, then the infamous Indiana Bat delay, is now stalled by a state political boondoggle. Without release of state funding via a state capital projects bill -- stuck in the quagmire of Springfield politics -- already-obtained federal dollars for the project cannot be released. Without that money, it doesn't matter what studies are completed -- the road, which would bypass downtown Algonquin and its beleaguered intersection by taking Route 31 traffic west -- can't be built.

Fox Valley commuters have oft seen such delays. The Stearns Road corridor and bridge, once hoped for completion in 2008, is finally under way with hopes it will be ready to carry traffic by 2010. "I've grown old trying to build this bridge," once said retired U.S. Rep. Dennis Hastert, whose efforts to secure federal funding played a vital role in moving the project along.

The expansion of Route 47 through Huntley and Randall Road in St. Charles, construction of Fox River bridges at Red Gate and Longmeadow Parkway, and other regional road improvements, have been hailed for providing much-needed, but long-delayed, traffic relief. But without matching state funds to bolster already-obtained federal dollars, they remain futile efforts.

Still, it's a step forward to see the oft-delayed western Algonquin bypass environmental survey completed. That clears the way for local leaders to lobby for that state funding which is awarded only to projects ready to go within three years. Since the project has already almost doubled in cost from $40 million to $70 million since its inception more than a decade ago, it's critical that state officials not further delay funding for this and other projects.

Motorists are past tired of the "Groundhog Day" funding scenario on northern Fox Valley roads. Same scene, different day has gotten very old and will, undoubtedly, prompt frustrated commuters to soon start bypassing elected leaders.