Stearns Road Corridor opens Dec. 16

The new Stearns Road Bridge Corridor, the largest infrastructure project in the history of Kane County, is nearing completion and will be open to the public on Dec. 16, Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay has announced.

In addition to marking completion of the 4.6-mile-long regional highway corridor, the ceremonies will honor the hundreds of men and women, from tradesmen to Congressmen, who helped make the project a reality.

"This project represents the culmination of the efforts of so many people, and the result is a much-needed, new Fox River crossing and 4.6-mile regional bridge corridor that extends from Randall Road in Kane County to Stearns Road in DuPage County," McConnaughay said.

"Through the provision of federal, state and local funding and the efforts of many resource agencies and others, we were able to develop a new bridge corridor that will also reward the region with 216 acres of new open space, restored native prairie, an oak savanna and wetlands for the enjoyment of generations to come," she said. "The project interconnects the major environmental sites within the corridor through newly created public access and linkages to the areas including seven new miles of multi-use trails and a new multi-use path bridge over the Fox River. The result is an environmental corridor that happens to have a road in it."

McConnaughay said the grand opening will "commemorate the efforts of local, state and federal partnerships that constructed this vital new project during a time when much-needed jobs were created to help the region endure a very difficult economic time. Many jobs were created, with peak numbers at 220 per day."

Four years have passed since Kane County marked the start of the $146.8 million project with groundbreaking ceremonies along the eastern bank of the Fox River, about a half-mile upstream from where Army Gen. Winfield Scott and his troops are believed to have crossed more than 175 years ago in pursuit of the famed Sauk leader Black Hawk.