Will motorists pay $1.50 to cross new Fox Valley bridge?

A faster commute across the Fox River in northern Kane County could cost motorists up to $1.50 per trip, under a $117 million plan designed to ease traffic congestion in the area.

The Longmeadow Parkway Toll Bridge would introduce a 5.6-mile, four-lane highway connecting Huntley Road in Carpentersville and Route 62 in Algonquin, moving some of the traffic burden off the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway, Route 72 and Route 62.

Construction of the toll section of the roadway from Route 31 to Route 62 would cost an estimated $82 million, while the connection from Route 31 to Huntley Road is estimated at $35 million.

A consultant from Chicago-based WilburSmith Associates recommended a toll of $1.50 during peak hours and $1 at off-peak times.

But members of the task force overseeing the bridge's development said they feared the toll would drive some motorists away. "I have my doubts that people are going to pay that much of a toll," Carpentersville Village President Bill Sarto said. "It is a lot just to cross the river."

Others said traffic conditions are reason enough to pay the fee. "But if you are stuck in traffic, it may be grudgingly, but you'd be willing to pay that toll," West Dundee Village President Larry Keller said.

The task force reiterated that any toll would be removed once the construction bonds are repaid and future widening or maintenance endowment funds are established.