Politics & Government

Huntley Moving Ahead With Full Route 47 Interchange

Illinois toll increase, effective Jan. 1, 2012, will help advance long-awaited project.

Huntley and McHenry County leaders long have wished for a full interchange at Route 47 and Interstate 90, arguing it is crucial to the area’s economic development.

The wish may be granted sooner than they thought.

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“We’ve been pretty much assured with this increase that the full interchange at (Route) 47 and I-90 will take place next year,” Mayor Charles Sass said Thursday night at the meeting. “We are excited about that.”

“It’s good news,” Trustee Harry Leopold said.

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For years Huntley official have worked with the Illinois Tollway, the Illinois Department of Transportation, McHenry County and Kane County to try to get the project done, and each have funded a part of the project.

Access to I-90 is from Huntley is limited to an eastbound ramp from Route 47. McHenry County is one of the largest counties without access to I-90, officials said.

McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler last week urged the tollway to move ahead with the Route 47 interchange by next year, whether or not its board approved the toll increase. He said it was that important for the area.

“We are real happy,” Koehler said of Thursday’s action.

Route 47 now could become a “gateway” for economic development for Huntley and McHenry County, Koehler said. While the full interchange would be built within Kane County, both counties will benefit, he said.

A full interchange can attract businesses, which would create permanent jobs, he said. The business also would spur retail, banking and the ancillary industries associated with development, Koehler said.

Huntley and McHenry County will be able to market the full interchange to businesses looking for good transportation routes to move goods in and out, he said. An added draw is the area’s proximity to a proposed UPS depot in Rockford that is planned to be the largest in the world. In addition, he said, the tollway is planning to reconstruct and widen I-90.

The lagging economy is still a factor, but the full interchange puts Huntley and McHenry County in a good position, he said.

Huntley has lots of work to do to move the project ahead, officials said.

“We’ve got our work cut out to make sure all the engineering is done,” Sass said. “We anticipate a January bid letting for the full interchange.”

For Sass, it almost seems too good to be true. He’s been waiting for movement on the project for 20 years.

“It’s been a lot of years,” he said. “When they get to actually moving dirt, I believe it.”


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