The following press release from 16th District Congressman Don Manzullo (R-Egan) announces three quarters of a million dollars for the Rakow Road expansion project.
Manzullo Secures Another $750,000 for Rakow Road Widening Project in McHenry County
[WASHINGTON] Congressman Don Manzullo (R-IL) today announced he has secured another $750,000 to help fund the vital Rakow Road widening project that will help reduce severe traffic congestion for tens of thousands of motorists in southeast McHenry County.
The funding is included in the Omnibus Appropriations bill, which Congress is scheduled to approve in the next two weeks before sending it to the President for his signature.
This is the third time Manzullo has secured federal funds for the major project. In 2005, Manzullo secured $5.72 million in the long-range federal transportation bill for the Rakow Road widening project. He secured another $570,000 in last year’s Transportation Appropriations bill for Rakow Road.
“Rakow Road is a significant regional arterial road that carries tens of thousands of McHenry County residents to work and school each day,” Manzullo said. “The widening project will double capacity on Rakow Road and reduce the significant congestion motorists experience each day. Reducing traffic congestion continues to be my number one priority for the people of McHenry County.”
The 3-mile-long widening project calls for widening the two-lane Rakow Road to six lanes from Ackman Road to Pyott Road and to four lanes from Pyott Road to Route 31. Up to 40,000 motorists currently travel Rakow Road each day and up to 60,000 are expected to travel the road by 2030.
McHenry County transportation officials are proceeding with Phase II engineering, which involves acquiring needed land and drawing contract plans for the project, and are hoping to begin construction in 2010.
In addition to Rakow Road, Manzullo has secured significant federal funding for the Western Bypass of Algonquin ($19 million) and the Route 47 widening project through Huntley ($6.7 million). Construction on both of those projects is scheduled to begin within the next year or two.