IDOT projects may be done before Solheim traffic hits

In less than three weeks Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove will host the Solheim Cup, the prestigious biennial women's golf tournament.

But will road construction have thousands of visitors cursing drives of another sort?

The Illinois Department of Transportation hopes not, and Village President Sean Michels says he is "not concerned."

IDOT expects to be mostly done with a repaving project on Route 47, from Route 30 south to the Kane-Kendall county line, by then. The project is about 80 percent finished, said Jacek Tyszkiewicz, project implementation engineer for IDOT's Region 1.

The state is awaiting a railroad insurance permit so it can do work near a railroad crossing, he said.

Another project, on Galena Boulevard from Route 56 to Canterbury Road, won't start until after the event, which is a joint effort of the Ladies European Tour and the Ladies Professional Golf Association.

IDOT plans to finish resurfacing a stretch of Route 56 from Norris Road to Route 30 before the event, too, he said.

It will put off replacing a culvert in that area until after the tournament.

"Our intent was to get as much done" as possible before the event, Tyszkiewicz said.

Michels said village officials met with IDOT's director to urge the Route 56 work be pushed up to be done in 2009, and that it be fully resurfaced, in time for the tournament. He said he's heard rumors that members of the Olympics site selection committee will visit the tournament, to see how Illinois handles a major international sporting event.

"It was sort of nip and tuck" because the project initially wasn't included in the state's 2009-10 budget, Michels said.

"We're thrilled with all the repaving that has gone on in Sugar Grove. It ought to make a good impression."

Rich Harvest Farms, a private club, is on Dugan Road, which is west of Route 47. The spectator guide for the tournament directs drivers to take Interstate 88 west to the Route 56 exit, then Route 56 west to Dugan, about a 6-mile drive. It does not give directions for drivers from the south nor from the north, but does direct drivers from DeKalb to take I-88 to Route 47, then head south to Route 56.

Many of the 40,000 spectators are expected to stay in hotels in Naperville and Aurora. Besides the roadwork near Sugar Grove, those visitors will have to navigate construction zones on I-88 for the replacement of the Fox River Bridge in Aurora; the construction of an interchange at Eola Road in Aurora; and, for those staying as far away as Oak Brook, a widening project from Route 83 to Finley Road in DuPage County. None of those will be finished in time for the Solheim Cup.

Jan Kemp, a spokesman for the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, said Solheim planners have been in contact with the agency. The tollway will place portable changeable message signs and static event signs, provided by the event, to direct drivers.