Illinois 53 Extension

[US 41]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. In my opinion, just because a road doesn't meet it's parent at both ends doesn't mean it doesn't function as a bypass. I-290 is a perfect example of this as it's logical endpoint is between Addison and Itasca at I-355. 355 should continue all the way up to Lake Cook. For that matter, I-294 should end at I-80. There's no point in having useless concurrences in my opinion.

I've always thought that I-294 and the toll road should end at I-80. I'm pro toll road, but in this case it seems kind of like a rip off. It costs $1.10 just to drive 5 miles. I guess it's a big money maker for the Illinois Toll Road.

[Brandon]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. In my opinion, just because a road doesn't meet it's parent at both ends doesn't mean it doesn't function as a bypass. I-290 is a perfect example of this as it's logical endpoint is between Addison and Itasca at I-355. 355 should continue all the way up to Lake Cook. For that matter, I-294 should end at I-80. There's no point in having useless concurrences in my opinion.

I've always thought that I-294 and the toll road should end at I-80. I'm pro toll road, but in this case it seems kind of like a rip off. It costs $1.10 just to drive 5 miles. I guess it's a big money maker for the Illinois Toll Road.

Considering that ISTHA built that section well before I-80 was even connected to it, your idea is moot.

[The Ghostbuster]

Let's get back to discussing the Illinois 53 Extension, and leave the other stuff for other threads.

[I-39]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. In my opinion, just because a road doesn't meet it's parent at both ends doesn't mean it doesn't function as a bypass. I-290 is a perfect example of this as it's logical endpoint is between Addison and Itasca at I-355. 355 should continue all the way up to Lake Cook. For that matter, I-294 should end at I-80. There's no point in having useless concurrences in my opinion.

I've always thought that I-294 and the toll road should end at I-80. I'm pro toll road, but in this case it seems kind of like a rip off. It costs $1.10 just to drive 5 miles. I guess it's a big money maker for the Illinois Toll Road.

Considering that ISTHA built that section well before I-80 was even connected to it, your idea is moot.

IMO, traffic flow would improve if the tolls were removed on I-80 and they reconfigured the I-80/294 interchange to have I-80 use through lanes rather than having to exit I-294 NB to get to I-80 WB.

But back to IL-53....

[Stephane Dumas]

I founded this article from the Chicago Tribune from Tollroadsnews http://tollroadsnews.com/news/daily-news-brief-sept-21-2015#10 the Sierra Club stepped in.....*sighs*... (note then the link go to an archived copy located on Archive.is
https://archive.is/4bRjy

[Henry]

I founded this article from the Chicago Tribune from Tollroadsnews http://tollroadsnews.com/news/daily-news-brief-sept-21-2015#10 the Sierra Club stepped in.....*sighs*... (note then the link go to an archived copy located on Archive.is
https://archive.is/4bRjy

Surely they must be friends with the mayor of Hawthorn Woods? (based on the fact that he is very highly opposed to the extension himself)

[I-39]

I founded this article from the Chicago Tribune from Tollroadsnews http://tollroadsnews.com/news/daily-news-brief-sept-21-2015#10 the Sierra Club stepped in.....*sighs*... (note then the link go to an archived copy located on Archive.is
https://archive.is/4bRjy

Surely they must be friends with the mayor of Hawthorn Woods? (based on the fact that he is very highly opposed to the extension himself)

If they are going to oppose whatever is put out, then might as well revise the project to a six lane tolled expressway (Option E in the Final Report). It will generate more revenue than the parkway.

[quickshade]

As far as I know this is on the TODO list, not the what if list. So after I90 is wrapped up next year and 390 the year after this will become the focus and I just don't see it getting derailed as easily as the last 30 years. They can drum up as much support against it as they want, but the voters have spoken and they will speak again and unless they want to fight some messy lawsuit I just don't think they can win.

[tribar]

As far as I know this is on the TODO list, not the what if list. So after I90 is wrapped up next year and 390 the year after this will become the focus and I just don't see it getting derailed as easily as the last 30 years. They can drum up as much support against it as they want, but the voters have spoken and they will speak again and unless they want to fight some messy lawsuit I just don't think they can win.

I hope you're right. 

[Henry]

I founded this article from the Chicago Tribune from Tollroadsnews http://tollroadsnews.com/news/daily-news-brief-sept-21-2015#10 the Sierra Club stepped in.....*sighs*... (note then the link go to an archived copy located on Archive.is
https://archive.is/4bRjy

Surely they must be friends with the mayor of Hawthorn Woods? (based on the fact that he is very highly opposed to the extension himself)

If they are going to oppose whatever is put out, then might as well revise the project to a six lane tolled expressway (Option E in the Final Report). It will generate more revenue than the parkway.

I could see that, but I'm afraid that nothing will appease them with the exception of the No-Build alternative.

As far as I know this is on the TODO list, not the what if list. So after I90 is wrapped up next year and 390 the year after this will become the focus and I just don't see it getting derailed as easily as the last 30 years. They can drum up as much support against it as they want, but the voters have spoken and they will speak again and unless they want to fight some messy lawsuit I just don't think they can win.

I hope you're right. 

I'm sure that they will lose.

[GeekJedi]

I'm sure that they will lose.

I don't know that I'd take that bet. The figurative road is littered with projects killed by lawsuits that people were "sure that they will lose". If history has taught us anything, it's that for better or worse transportation projects are no longer pushed from the regional level onto the local municipalities.

[I-39]

I'm sure that they will lose.

I don't know that I'd take that bet. The figurative road is littered with projects killed by lawsuits that people were "sure that they will lose". If history has taught us anything, it's that for better or worse transportation projects are no longer pushed from the regional level onto the local municipalities.

They will lose this fight, because not just the traditional people will join the opposition, but the people who are opposed to the new taxes that will be levied to help pay for it will join as well.

[quickshade]

Well if it ends up being tolled and they are using the Move Illinois funds. And the voters did speak when they ran the question a few years back to gather data on how people felt about the project. It won by a wide margin.

[mgk920]

Well if it ends up being tolled and they are using the Move Illinois funds. And the voters did speak when they ran the question a few years back to gather data on how people felt about the project. It won by a wide margin.

It was agreed to be under the purview of the ISTHA back in the 1980s - everyone there expects it to be a tollway.

Mike

[dietermoreno]

Can someone who has a Tribune subscription please copy and paste the text in here please?  Thanks.
Edit: Found out that the shortened url was there for a reason.

Not that we don't already know what the article is about.  The same story for the past 30 years.

[dietermoreno]

Stupid question: Why was the IL Rt 83 realignment not included in the Lake County Challenge Program bond 4 laning of Peterson Rd and Rt 83 near Peterson Rd?

The bridge over the train tracks didn't need to be built yet, but the intersection of Peterson and 83 could have been moved to its proposed realignment instead of just widening the intersection at its existing alignment.

The Village of Grayslake wanted a partial cloverleaf interchange at Rt 53 and Peterson Rd, taking up the two southern quadrants of the interchange, likely due to there being a landfill to the north.

I doubt there would be a point now of realigning Rt 83 further south than the bridge that will connect Atkinson Rd to the existing Rt 83.

So now there probably wouldn't be enough room for a partial clover leaf.  Maybe a tight diamond.

Looks like Lake County DOT apparently wasn't interested in realigning the intersection of Peterson and 83.  Grayslake in 2014 said that were waiting on an IDOT project, but it looks like Lake County DOT did the intersection improvement without waiting for IDOT.  Alot of things seem this "backwards" way in Lake County.  "backwards" as in the county roads are better than the state roads, and waiting for IDOT takes so long that the county gives up and does its own plans.

[I-39]

More drama in fight over the Illinois 53 extension. Here is an article from the Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-illinois-route-53-extension-met-20151029-story.html

The battle lines have formed again in the decades-old controversy over extending a key artery, Illinois Route 53, north through Lake County. This time the fight has stirred attention well beyond the county's borders.

A key question looms on whether the Illinois Tollway should spend nearly $6 million for an environmental impact study on the feasibility of the controversial project.

That study, if favorable, could serve to greenlight a much more costly decision by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority board: Should the agency build a proposed $2.65 billion tollway that would cost more to drive per mile than anywhere else in the entire system?

An advisory committee recommended in March that Lake County residents bear a major share of the construction costs, with a new county gas tax and creation of a special taxing district. But the project's cost would be shared by everyone who uses the tollway system.

Supporters and opponents of the project have become increasingly vocal in recent months, turning out at Tollway board meetings to present their arguments.

Hawthorn Woods resident Vanessa Griffin told the Tollway board last week that constructing the highway would disrupt the environment and harm "a beautiful, calm, quiet, nature-soaked community."

Evan Craig, representing the Sierra Club, said the extension would destroy portions of the county's valuable wetlands. Furthermore, the project would result in Lake County "taxing itself to help pay for its own demise," the Vernon Hills resident said.

Disharmony spreads over Route 53 plan
Disharmony spreads over Route 53 plan
But Jeffrey Berman, a Buffalo Grove village trustee, countered that plans call for wetland protections and restoration of natural resources, with innovative stormwater management techniques to minimize environmental impact.

After 40 years of debate, "it's time to move forward with this critical infrastructure project that will mitigate congestion and drive renewed economic opportunity" in the county, Berman said.

Foes have organized to oppose the project. More than 100 project opponents rallied Sept. 20 at the Heron Creek Forest Preserve in Lake Zurich. Proponents have mobilized as well and recently issued a new survey of county residents that they say bolsters their case.

But three years after a special Blue Ribbon Advisory Council proclaimed that it had achieved a consensus on how the proposed "21st century urban highway" should look, Lake County communities appear to be engaged in a civil war over the issue.

The advisory council called for not only extending Route 53 north through Lake County, as originally intended, but creating a broader corridor also encompassing Route 120, which runs east-west across the county.

5 Lake County towns unite against Route 53 planning process
5 Lake County towns unite against Route 53 planning process
The plan envisions extending existing Route 53 for 12.5 miles north from Lake-Cook Road to Grayslake. There, it would form a "T" with a 12-mile stretch of Route 120, which would also be upgraded.

The new Route 53/120 corridor would be unlike the rest of the tollway system, a "parkway" limited to four lanes and a 45-mph speed limit. Advocates describe it as "a modern boulevard with a small footprint to protect the natural environment and preserve the character of Lake County."

If the extension is built, it could be the most expensive tollway to drive in the Chicago area, with a base toll of 20 cents per mile. Tollway users currently pay an average of 6 cents per mile.

Working with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, a county-led Land Use Committee recently completed a draft document for the corridor. This month, CMAP conducted two open houses to elicit public comment on the document.

A comprehensive plan created by CMAP, the official planning agency for the Chicago area, lists the Route 53/120 corridor project as its highest priority, citing performance measures that show it as "ranking highest among all projects in its effect on regionwide congestion."

The Land Use Committee is scheduled to meet next Nov. 5 and may sign off on the 170-page draft plan. The document is heavy on statistics and maps, but as of this week, still lacks an executive summary containing specific recommendations.

The draft does conclude that the Route 53/120 corridor "will be a catalyst for economic development" in Lake County.

In June, leaders in Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer, Long Grove, Mundelein and Round Lake, which contend they will be the most directly affected by the highway, wrote to the Tollway expressing concern with the project's planning process.

Hawthorn Woods contends that the advisory council's report is flawed. The panel "did not include a single community in the path of the proposed Route 53 as members," the village wrote in a comment on the Land Use plan.

"Residents in this part of the county located their homes here to avoid maximum build-out of land, high density development, and commercialization of farms with industrial centers, shopping centers, and multi-story employment centers," the letter stated.

Their letter was quickly followed by one in support of the project by leaders in 40 other municipalities. Those officials asked Tollway Chairman Bob Schillerstrom and three new board members – all appointed by Gov. Bruce Rauner – for their "continued support with the next engineering and environmental studies required to keep this project moving forward."

Tollway officials say they anticipate the authority's board will make a decision on whether to authorize an environmental impact study at the agency's Dec. 17 meeting.

That's the day that the Tollway is scheduled to approve the agency's 2016 budget, which includes $5.8 million for planning studies for "emerging projects."

Tollway Executive Director Greg Bedalov, addressing the Transportation Management Association of Lake-Cook last week, said the agency will be "looking more critically" at the project before making a decision.

Lake County Chairman Aaron Lawlor, who has championed the project and co-chaired the land use panel, told the association that the project has a "tremendous amount of support" throughout the county and urged the Tollway to proceed with an environmental impact study.

One alternative that some have suggested, widening some 56 miles of existing arterial highways, would cost an estimated $2.8 billion, more than the proposed Route 53/120 project, Lawlor said.

Furthermore, there is no source of funds for this work, unlike the "more certain future" that is offered by the Tollway, Lawlor said.

An analysis by the development group Lake County Partners determined that the Route 53-120 corridor project would generate $17 billion to $19 billion in economic impact and create 25,000 to 30,000 jobs, Lawlor said.

"When you look at all the alternatives," Lawlor said, "the project is less costly, it has more environmental benefits, and it leverages the collective will of our mayors, economic development professionals and environmental leaders to work together in a collaborative manner for smart growth."

[quickshade]

I think they have a plan that conserves the environment, increases traffic flow and decrease congestion for many in both Lake and McHenry county. Although I don't agree with the parkway build option overall the plan is solid and I would venture to guess since the tollway is committed to improving the network of roads and the huge majority that support the project these towns will just have to learn to deal with it. 30 years they have known this was going to happen, time to just deal with it.

[Joe The Dragon]

I think they have a plan that conserves the environment, increases traffic flow and decrease congestion for many in both Lake and McHenry county. Although I don't agree with the parkway build option overall the plan is solid and I would venture to guess since the tollway is committed to improving the network of roads and the huge majority that support the project these towns will just have to learn to deal with it. 30 years they have known this was going to happen, time to just deal with it.

They just need to drop the 45 part of it and maybe make it 3 lanes.

[ET21]

A new study has gotten approval for the eventual expansion. 12.5 miles would be added between lake cook and IL-120. IL-120 would be upgraded and have a T junction constructed

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-tollway-route-53-met-20151208-story.html

[Joe The Dragon]

A new study has gotten approval for the eventual expansion. 12.5 miles would be added between lake cook and IL-120. IL-120 would be upgraded and have a T junction constructed

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-tollway-route-53-met-20151208-story.html

No 45 BS when us-12 has faster speeds with lights.

Also in schaumburg IL there are LOCAL ROADS with 45.

[Henry]

Well, that's a start. But there will still be opponents who will try to stop the proposal dead in its tracks yet again! (i.e. Hawthorn Woods)

[The Ghostbuster]

Somehow, I doubt even this study will lead to construction of the route.

[ET21]

Well, that's a start. But there will still be opponents who will try to stop the proposal dead in its tracks yet again! (i.e. Hawthorn Woods)

Hawthorn Woods and Long Grove are the main opponents, even though by the looks of the Facebook article the public wants it built now. The mayor is quoted saying "This will profoundly change my village", emphasis on the my. What a prick lol

[dietermoreno]

I doubt funding will be availble until after Move Illinois wraps up in 2026.