Illinois Route 53 Extension

The Illinois Route 53 Extension is a proposed transportation project in Lake County, Illinois. Discussion of the extension began in the 1960s. Illinois Route 53 (IL 53) currently ends at Lake Cook Road in Buffalo Grove. The project would build a 25-mile (40 km) extension of IL 53 to IL 120 in Grayslake.

The Illinois Route 53/120 Blue Ribbon Advisory Council (BRAC), a body created by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISTHA), provides citizen involvement on the planning and building of the IL 53 extension.

The project proposes a new 45 mph (70 km/h) parkway with environmental protection aimed at not harming wetlands and prairie along the route. The project includes new tolls of 20 cents per mile (12 ¢/km). However, the project faces a $2 billion funding gap. The project is estimated to cost between $2.35 billion to $2.65 billion.

History

Historic U.S. Route 66 in Joliet & IL 53 south of Theodore Street parallel to the I&M Canal in Joliet, IL

Leading up to 2009, traffic congestion in Lake County reached a tipping point. Voters approved a non-binding referendum in 2009 to extend I 53 north to IL 120.

The concept behind the IL 53 extension is to build a four-lane toll road. In early 2015, a committee of public officials and other stakeholders sent a list of recommendations to ISTHA. For example, one recommendation was a 4-cent-per-US-gallon (1.1 ¢/L) gas tax to fund the local share of the project.

In September 2015, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning released a 170-page draft land use strategy for the project. The report outlined and identified potential issues that could arise from building the extension. The report uses "market forecasts for 2040 to recommend land use approaches in different areas, and provides guidance and recommendations for a corridor-wide strategy designed to stimulate economic development while protecting the environment and enhancing transportation options,” according to the Daily Herald.

On November 12, 2015, the land use committee voted 15–5 to approve its recommendations for the extension. The report was drafted in September 2015. Passage of the report by the planning committee sends the report to the Illinois Tollway board of directors, which must authorize an environmental impact report before the extension moves forward.

Environmental impact

The proposed extension would run through the Heron Marsh in Long Grove and the Indian Creek Marsh in Hawthown Woods. The “Illinois Route 53/120 Corridor Land Use Plan” is a strategy to limit disruptions to the environment and consider the uses of the land around the corridor. The advisory council recommended a plan to preserve open space and natural land areas.

Support

Proponents of the tollway argue that congestion in Lake County has already reached economically damaging levels, that the existing network of roads in the county is insufficient, and that future projections call for extensive sprawl to continue regardless of the presence of a new highway. In an April 2009 non-binding referendum, registered voters in Lake County approved (76% yes to 24% no) the proposal to extend IL 53, with a 16% turnout rate.

Advocates say an extended IL 53 and improved IL 120 would increase traffic to 62,000 vehicles per day by 2040, roughly the same number of vehicles that travel on Interstate 94 north of Six Flags Great America. Estimates predict that a trip from Grayslake to Schaumburg would take 68 minutes with the road, compared to 98 minutes without it.

According to the Daily Herald, "Supporters say the exact configuration has not been determined, and the only way to get to that level of detail is through the environmental study."

Opposition

The extension has been opposed by several organizations, notably the Illinois chapter of the Sierra Club, and many residents of Long Grove, which lies in the path of the highway. The Sierra Club opposes the roadway extension because it would be routed through wetlands and the group has concerns about suburban sprawl and increased pollution.

Joe Mancino, the mayor of Hawthorn Woods accused the committee of violating the Illinois Open Meetings Act by not posting the agenda at the front door of the building 48 hours before the meeting, and thus, the vote was invalid. (The meeting took place at the College of Lake County in Grayslake). A second meeting of the land use committee re-convened on November 12 with full public notice. At that meeting the land use plan passed 15–5.

At a public hearing held by ISTHA in November 2015, Mancino said he wants the project shut down because it would bring more traffic and low-elevation bridges to Hawthorn Woods.

External links

• Proposed Alignment for IL Route 53/120 North Extension, Central Lake County Corridor
• Illinois Route 53/120 Corridor Land Use Strategy
• Corridor Planning for Livability and Mobility on YouTube