Illinois Tollway Officials Update Route 47 Interchange Project

Kathy Wojciechowski sat through a presentation by Illinois Tollway officials Monday then a question and answer session where people commented on everything from noise walls to the cost of tolls.

As she left the Drendel Ballroom in Sun City Huntley, Wojcichowski stopped to talk to Huntley Mayor Chuck Sass.

“We are thrilled this is happening,” she said.

Wojciechowski is hoping the interchange will bring more business to Huntley. “It’s going to be tremendous for us,” she said.

Illinois Tollway held an open house to answer the public’s question about the $69 million Route 47 interchange project Monday at Sun City Huntley.

The Route 47 full interchange project is monumental not just for Huntley, it signifies the start of the Illinois Tollway’s Move Illinois project that will push the agency’s road system into the 21st century, Illinois Tollway Executive Director Kristi Lafleur said.

“It’s very exciting we’ve been able to time this project, which has been on the books for many years, many decades, to Move Illinois,” Lafleur said.

Construction on the Route 47 project that will add six ramps providing east and west access to the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) began earlier this year.

The Tollway is funding half of the cost with the village of Huntley, the Illinois Department of Transportation, Kane County and McHenry County contributing the rest.

“It’s not just an interchange project,” said Rocco Zucchero, Deputy Chief of Engineering and Planning for the Tollway. “It’s a local project too. It’s defiantly a massive undertaking.”

The local improvements include the reconstruction and widening of 1.5 miles of Route 47 along with Jim Dhamer Drive and Freeman Road, Zucchero said. New interconnected traffic signals will also be placed on the roadway.

Zucchero said about 7,000 vehicles use the ramps everyday and that number is expected to jump to 25,000 in the next few years, he said.

“This area is definitely prime for growth, he said.

The access to I-90 is expected to attract more business in the area but motorists will be dealing with construction headaches for the near future as the Tollway is set to begin the I-90 reconstruction project by next year.

Under the Move Illinois plan, 62 miles of I-90 will be widened and reconstructed beginning next year. Prep work is already being done for the first phase of the project, from Elgin to Rockford, officials said.

The project will kick into high gear next year,  Zucchero said.

Lafleur said an important aspect of the I-90 project is the Tollway has included a provision fro transit transportation. Move Illinois is a $2 billion project that includes $240 million for transit, she said.