Lake Co. seeks grant for Thruway

Turned down once already, Lake County officials are taking a second shot at federal funds for a proposed east-west highway.

The Lake County Board on Tuesday is expected to authorize an application for a $13.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the project dubbed the Lake County Thruway.

A planned highway between Volo and Waukegan, it once was part of the plans for a northward extension of Route 53 into Lake County. But after that project stalled years ago, local and county officials started developing it independently.

Under the plan, Route 120 would become a four-lane arterial highway with limited access between Fish Lake Road in Volo on the west and Almond Road in Warren Township on the east. It also calls for a seven-mile bypass segment around the existing Route 120 in the Grayslake area.

Lake County officials want the $13.3 million grant to pay for an early engineering study they hope the Illinois Department of Transportation would manage.

If approved, the grant would require Lake County officials to contribute about $3.3 million to the project. That money would come from a local sales-tax fund designated for transportation and public-safety projects.

Lake County officials first asked for funding last year through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, popularly known as stimulus funding, but the request was denied. This time, they're eyeing the federal transportation appropriations bill.

"We don't know what our chances are. But if we don't try, we'll never know," said board Chairwoman Suzi Schmidt, a Lake Villa Republican. "We're not leaving any stone unturned."

Grants from this program are supposed to fund projects that will have a significant impact on the nation, a metropolitan area or a region, county officials said.

"We feel the project is that important," Schmidt said.

The entire Thruway project could cost $461 million, according to the most recent estimate.

The county board is scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the county government center in Waukegan.