Huntley's Westbound Interchange A Long Time in the Making

Huntley Village officials have been pushing for years to get the westbound interchange at Route 47 and I-90.

The project, which they expect will help spur economic development, is more than 20 years in the making.

The community held a groundbreaking ceremony Monday for the westbound interchange, which is already under construction. The ceremony celebrated years of hard work and lobbying for the road project.

Village President Chuck Sass said the community has gone through three different governors, and six different Tollway directors, as it has worked to make the interchange a reality.

That ceremony came almost 40 years to the day after the eastbound interchange was first dedicated in Huntley.

While I-90 was in place for years before, Huntley didn’t have a stop at all along the road until the 1970s.

On August 18, 1972 the Route 47 interchange was dedicated.

Similar to Monday’s event, which featured Gov. Pat Quinn, the 1972 event was met with fanfare, as Governor Richard Ogilvie made the trek out to Huntley for the ceremony.

Local historian Mary E. Manning said it was a great day for the residents of Huntley, who before that has used streetcars, trains and roads such as Route 20 to get to and from the city.

Those means of transportation were also used for business, such as transporting milk in to Chicago.

It was thought that having access to the Tollway would improve business, as officials now hope the westbound interchange will increase economic development, old newspaper clippings in the Huntley Area Public Library show.