County appeals for funding of road projects
Routes 120 and 53 are 'ready to go'
Lake County Board Chairman Suzi Schmidt and county transportation leaders are making a direct appeal to Gov. Pat Quinn for funding to move proposed Route 120 and Route 53 projects forward.
The extension of Route 53, along with the Route 120 widening and bypass project, have been studied, debated and on hold for years. Officials say the county has its ducks in a row and it's time for state and federal officials to act.
"We've done all the work to get these projects ready to go," Schmidt said at a press conference in the County Building Wednesday. "The time to act is now. I'm going to be approaching the governor to take action on some of our projects, (which) really are state projects."
The Route 120 plan recommends widening the current road to a four-lane arterial highway with limited access between Almond Road in Gurnee and Volo. The plan includes a seven-mile bypass around the existing path of Route 120 in the area of Grayslake. Local and regional traffic would be separated with the bypass.
And in a non-binding, countywide referendum in April, roughly 75 percent of local voters said they were in favor of the northern extension of Route 53 through Lake County, a project that has been debated for decades.
Schmidt said the opportunity exists to secure funding for the projects due to leadership positions held by Illinoisans, most notably President Barack Obama, Secretary of Transportation Ray Lahood and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin.
"If there ever was a time for Illinois to get support for transportation, it is now," Schmidt said.
Round Lake Beach Mayor Richard Hill, president of the Lake County Municipal League, said the projects are needed not only to address daily gridlock, but to make it easier for new businesses to locate in Lake County.
"This is tied directly to the economic reality of jobs," he said. "We're asking the governor to look at the county and how our state roads have been underfunded over the years."
Schmidt said she hopes to give the governor an informational packet on the funding request today at the groundbreaking for the new Lake County Fielders minor-League baseball team in Zion.
"If I don't see him tomorrow, I will get to him," she said Wednesday, promising a personal appeal.
Whether the projects have a realistic chance for funding anytime soon remains to be seen, with both carrying hefty price tags. Construction costs for the Route 120 projects are estimated at $500 million, while the cost of the Route 53 extension is pegged at over $1 billion.
Schmidt said both projects are equally important, but she thinks Route 120 may have a better chance of moving quickly, with corridor planning work done and phase 1 engineering costs estimated at about $23 million.
"If we do not get phase one, this project will go on the shelf like so many other projects," she said.
County Administrator Barry Burton said the governor and state officials have the ability to move that engineering work forward.
"Phase 1 is $23 million. If they want to do it, they can do it," he said.
