East State Street reconstruction project moves forward in Geneva

Geneva aldermen have approved an intergovernmental agreement with the state for acquiring right-of-way parcels required for the $22 million East State Street reconstruction project.

The project involves the reconstruction and widening of Route 38 from the Fox River bridge east to about Kane Street, with a common turn lane.

Other elements include interconnected signals from Kirk Road to Route 25; a bike lane on the south side of Route 38 from Nebraska Street east to Kirk Road; and landscape amenities installed on both sides, Public Works Director Richard Babica said.

A new water main and new storm and sanitary sewers also will be installed, and the sidewalks and curb ramps will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, he added.

Land acquisition is anticipated to take nine months, with bed letting in November 2023 and construction beginning in early 2024.

"First year is anticipated to (be) utility work ... the second year will be actual road construction," Babica said.

The project cost - tentatively at $22 million - will be funded from a variety of state, federal and local sources, he said.

This latest agreement, approved at the Nov. 21 city council meeting, formalizes the city's ability to use the state's "quick-take authority," which means that the project will not be delayed through the land acquisition process, Babica said.

Under the process, the government will be able to acquire land while it and the property owner are negotiating - or litigating - over a fair price.

"If they can agree on the price, fantastic. If they cannot, rather than having the project get delayed years and years while the final determination is litigated, it is litigated after the fact," he said.

City Administrator Stephanie Dawkins said the action being taken is at the request of the Illinois Department of Transportation.

"Even though it is state right of way, and we are acquiring property for the project in the state's name because it is their roadway - but we're doing the work - it allows us to use their process," Dawkins said.

Geneva officials have approved several agreements with IDOT for the project, she said.

To give an idea of how long this project has been in the works, Dawkins said the first phase started in 2005.