Kane on verge of signing first Longmeadow Parkway contract
Kane County officials are two votes and a spring thaw away from beginning construction on the Longmeadow Parkway project.
The county board's transportation committee voted in favor of a $6.6 million contract with Hoffman Estates-based Plote Construction Tuesday for a section of the project that extends from Huntley/Boyer Roads to just west of Randall Road. County transportation officials expect work to begin this spring.
The contract shows a cost about 27 percent less than the initial estimate. That's good news for fans of the project who are hoping to keep the overall cost as low as possible. At one point, a combined estimate of the engineering, land acquisition and construction put the project at $135 million.
The most controversial aspect of the price is the financing needed to build the tollway portion of the project. In recent weeks, Illinois Department of Transportation officials approved the transfer of $1.9 million earmarked for the county's Stearns Road project to the Longmeadow Parkway. Kane County Division of Transportation Deputy Director Tom Rickert announced the receipt of another $2.5 million in federal funds Tuesday courtesy of the Kane-Kendall Conference of Mayors.
That adds to about $14.5 million in existing federal funds for the project and more than $60 million in state funds.
Rickert said the borrowing for the tollway portion of Longmeadow would come to about $37.5 million, or about half the original estimate. The less borrowing, the lower the toll.
Rickert said he hopes construction bids for the project continue to come in at less than the engineering estimates, which would also reduce costs.
KDOT expects to bid the construction for the second phase of Longmeadow this summer. That phase involves the portion that runs from Randall Road to just east of White Chapel Lane.
While viewing a map, committee member T.R. Smith was taken aback at the number of homes near that second phase. An existing two-land road runs near about 70 homes right at the village border of Algonquin.
Ultimately, it will be a four-land county road that runs along the route. Rickert said that should be no surprise to property owners.
"This was all planned between the village of Algonquin and the county," Rickert said. "When those homes were sold, all the owners signed a letter of understanding that there would be a county four-lane road that comes through here."
The impact of the parkway on area homes and schools has been a source of renewed controversy in recent months. More than 200 opponents of the project succeeded in placing an advisory referendum question about the parkway that will appear on Dundee Township ballots this March. Longmeadow is also a key issue in District 24 Kane County Board race.
Incumbent Joe Haimann voted in favor of the Longmeadow agenda items Tuesday.
"The bridge at Main Street is the only bridge Carpentersville has to cross that river," Haimann said. "It's a mess. The people I talk to say we need another bridge over the Fox River. Some people talk about the Route 31 bypass. That runs north/south. We need more east/west. And in my heart, I believe that's what's really hurt the Spring Hill Mall (in West Dundee). When people have to start sitting in traffic, they don't want to go there."
The full county board must still approve all the contracts and agreements before they become final. Those votes are expected Feb. 9.