I see in the Chicago Tribune that local governments are kicking in money to study Route 47.
Excuse me, but I wonder if any of those officials have looked at the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Strategic Regional Arterial (SRA) study of Route 47.
When I was state representative IDOT conducted a series of SRA studies on important highways throughout the Chicago metropolitan area.
Route 47 was one of the highways studied.
Despite my urging, IDOT steadfastly refused to record the suggested highway changes, including bypasses. Local towns like Sugar Grove allowed subdivisions to be built on the suggested right-of-way.
Such a stupid move by IDOT. Spend the money on all these engineering studies and hope local municipalities follow the suggestions that those local municipalities made to IDOT.
From the Tribune’s description of what is going to be done,
“a land-use-and-transportation-needs study of the Illinois Highway 47 corridor from the Wisconsin border to Kendall County,”
it is exactly what was done in the mid to late 1990’s.
I remember thinking how shortsighted Huntley village officials were in not to wanting a bypass. But, they didn’t and no corridor was reserved for one.
Oh, well.
$280,000 to figure out how to work around the planning mistakes that local villages and cities have made.
You’ll love the name of the “Back to the Future” program:
“Illinois Tomorrow corridor study grants.”
Seeing your state tax dollars spent like that makes you feel all warm and prickly, doesn’t it?
Oh, yes.
No significant money has been spent on widening or improving Route 47 since the SRA studies, except in Huntley.
And, that money Huntley extracted from developers north of the tollway.
When I went to the mailbox this afternoon, I found something that obviously was supposed to be delivered before yesterday’s election.
