ECC left holding the bag on road extension

Elgin Community College trustees voted this month to pay for a portion of the oft-delayed Spartan Road extension project that the state had previously agreed to fund.

According to a 1995 agreement with the city of Elgin, ECC and Elgin must evenly split the cost of the 12-year-old plan, which will connect McLean Boulevard with Randall Road.

The cost of the project is $3.8 million. The state had previously agreed to kick in for ECC's share of the road.

Now, ECC will pay half the construction costs.

In 1997, the Illinois Community College board agreed to add the Spartan Road extension project to the list of projects it intended to fund.

The extension has been fifth on that list since 2003, the last year the community college board provided capital funding.

The agreement with the city of Elgin obligates ECC to put up its share of the funds, with or without the money from the state, said ECC Vice President of Finance Carole Robertson.

Continued delays of the project increased the cost of the project by more than $1 million, the resolution by trustees said.

The Army Corps of Engineers accepted the final design of the project this spring, after delaying approval for months because of environmental concerns.

ECC broke ground on the project this fall.

Without state funding for the project, ECC will have to delay other planned construction projects and program expansions, the resolution said.

"The Board of Trustees calls on legislators that represent District 509 constituents to aggressively press the state of Illinois for this funding," the resolution said.

The project should be completed by October, Robertson said.