Huntley businesses in construction zone to get shot in the arm

The lane-widening project on Route 47 in Huntley has been the bane of Bernice Bakley’s existence ever since it got started in April 2010.

Bakley owns Huntley Travel, located right in the middle of all the roadwork. The ongoing construction has driven some business away, she says, because many patrons would rather not deal with the headaches on Route 47. Authorities say there have also been times when businesses along the route had to close when construction workers shut off water.

“Obviously, it’s a struggle for our customers to reach us and I think all of the businesses have felt that, one way or the other,” said Bakley, who has owned the business since 1994.

To help resolve this issue, the Huntley Area Chamber of Commerce and the village of Huntley are putting together a construction crawl to bring people back to Route 47.

The crawl, scheduled from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, involves 29 businesses at 28 locations in the construction zone. Residents, friends and neighbors are invited to stop into as many businesses as possible for giveaways, door prizes, an open house and to chat with the owners.

“We really just wanted to focus on an opportunity to help them get a little more regrouped, re-motivated for the community to go in there and show their support,” said Rita Slawek, president and chief executive officer of the chamber.

The crawl also serves as a way to help drum up business in the construction corridor and as a reminder to patrons the businesses are open.

“We have a terrible economy and road construction so it’s been tough on every business in Huntley, most importantly, the ones on Route 47,” said village Trustee Pam Fender, who brought the idea of a construction crawl to village officials. “We need our sales tax to be in Huntley and spent in Huntley whenever possible.”

Meanwhile, work on the $23.6 million lane-widening project isn’t quite finished yet.

The Illinois Department of Transportation hopes to complete the mainline construction work and to have four lanes of traffic open before the end of the year, said Guy Tridgell, an IDOT spokesman.

Additional work, including adding sidewalks and lighting, is expected to wrap up into the spring.

For more information on the construction crawl and to see who is participating, visit huntley.il.us or huntleychamber.org.