Lake County's 4-cent per gallon gas tax begins today

A 4-cent per gallon local fuel tax expected to generate about $10 million per year for road projects in Lake County goes into effect today.

The county, which didn't have the authority to impose a “county option motor fuel tax” until 2019, is the last of the collar counties to do so.

County board members initially discussed imposing the maximum allowed 8 cents per gallon, but after considerable debate over several sessions the amount was reduced to 4 cents as a compromise. The measure was approved 14-7 on March 9.

Supporters said a new revenue source is needed to help address an immense backlog of road and transportation projects. While many agreed with the need for funding, opponents questioned the timing of adding another expense for pandemic-crunched consumers.

With no benchmark for comparison, and variables such as the growing number of electric vehicles, estimates of how much the new tax will contribute will need to be adjusted.

“We're starting with a $10 million per year projection,” County Engineer Shane Schneider said Wednesday during an overview of the 2021-2026 Transportation Improvement Program. That plan is usually finalized and published every August.

The $53 million the tax is estimated to generate over the five-year period is about 8% of the overall $688 million program, which includes 340 projects big and small.

The money will be used for backlogged projects that otherwise wouldn't have been addressed, Schneider said.

The Lake County Division of Transportation relies on five revenue sources for projects and regularly pursues federal and state funding, he added. The largest single estimated source of funding for the five-year program is $315.5 million from an RTA sales tax, followed by state motor fuel tax at about $147 million.

LCDOT program priorities are preservation, such as resurfacing (24%); modernization, including trails, sidewalks and smart technology (40%); and expansion, including road widening and paratransit (29%).

Schneider said the five-year plan calls for an investment of nearly $58 million in nonmotorized projects, including 36 miles of paved shoulder, 29 miles of bike paths and nearly 22 miles of sidewalks.

Other highlights from the five-year plan include:

• Preliminary engineering for the Lewis Avenue corridor from Route 137 to Route 120 to determine links to the regional bike path system;

• Preliminary engineering of Fairfield Road from Route 134 to Route 60 in western Lake County to identify intersection and other improvements;

• Filling 1.6 miles of gaps to create more than six miles of a continuous regional path and bike lane on Washington Street;

• Widening Buffalo Grove Road from Route 22 to Route 45;

• Realigning Cedar Lake Road from Hart Road to Nippersink Road.