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Yorkville Public Works Committee recommends Sugar Grove engineering firm for Kennedy Road reconstruction · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Yorkville Public Works Committee recommends sugar Grove engineering firm for
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  Speaker 1: Kennedy Road reconstruction. Written by Joey Weslow. This article is
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  Speaker 1: being read by an automated voice brought to you by Everlett.
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  Speaker 1: The reconstruction work of Kennedy Road in Yorkville took another
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  Speaker 1: step forward this week. The city's Public Works Committee recommended
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  Speaker 1: a four hundred thirty seven thousand, two hundred and eighty
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  Speaker 1: six dollars contract be awarded to Engineering Enterprises, Inc. Of
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  Speaker 1: sugar Grove to design sesssifications, and bid out the construction
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  Speaker 1: for the project. The contract will have to gain approval
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  Speaker 1: of the City Council. The eventual redesign for the roadway
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  Speaker 1: sets the stage for multiple future projects, while the city
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  Speaker 1: will have to pay the contract out of its own coffers.
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  Speaker 1: It did receive in twenty twenty four a two million,
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  Speaker 1: forty four, three hundred and fifty dollars grant, though the
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  Speaker 1: Kine Kendall Council of Mayor's Surface Transportation Program that grant
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  Speaker 1: funding can only be used for construction aspects along Kennedy Road,
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  Speaker 1: not engineering aspects. Public Works Director Eric Deuce said the
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  Speaker 1: project involves improving a stretch of Kennedy Road between Emerald
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  Speaker 1: Lane and Freedom Place. He said the city will have
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  Speaker 1: to conduct land acquisition for right of ways along the
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  Speaker 1: project site. The construction work is expected to take place
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  Speaker 1: over fiscal year twenty twenty seven to twenty twenty eight.
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  Speaker 1: Cutting down legacy oaks the Kennedy Road construction sparked debate
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  Speaker 1: regarding the city's plan to cut down up to thirteen
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  Speaker 1: heritage oaks along BlackBerry Oaks golf Course. While several residents
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  Speaker 1: have spoken out against cutting down the trees, the city
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  Speaker 1: said their removal is imperative to the city's Kennedy Road
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  Speaker 1: expansion project. The project involves widen eying the pavement and
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  Speaker 1: adding turn lanes to improve the intersection at Freedom Trail.
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  Speaker 1: It is designed to accommodate the area's increase traffic flow
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  Speaker 1: due to the growing Grande Reserve subdivision. The city previously
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  Speaker 1: said several factors are determining how many trees will be
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  Speaker 1: cut down, including a twenty four foot wide clear zone
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  Speaker 1: required by the Illinois Department of Transportation. Mayor John Purcell
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  Speaker 1: said the trees pose a safety hazard as several vehicles
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  Speaker 1: have crashed into them over the years. The city entertained
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  Speaker 1: different plans for how to approach the clear zone, with
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  Speaker 1: the city council agreeing to consider two plans that each
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  Speaker 1: remove a different number of trees. One plan includes removing
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  Speaker 1: five trees, saving eight, and adding a guardrail for extra
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  Speaker 1: safety should a vehicle leave the roadway. Alderman Arden Joe Plosher,
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  Speaker 1: said he was in favor of chopping all the trees down,
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  Speaker 1: saying he didn't think the money to save them is
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  Speaker 1: worth it. The city said it previously looked into potentially
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  Speaker 1: shifting the roadway east towards the subdivision and away from
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  Speaker 1: BlackBerry Oaks. However, the city determined it would add too
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  Speaker 1: many extra and delays because of the private and city
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  Speaker 1: utilities that would need to be relocated. The project to
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  Speaker 1: expand the Kennedy Road and Freedom Trail intersection was initially
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  Speaker 1: estimated to cost about one million dollars. The project currently
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  Speaker 1: is slated to begin construction in the summer twenty twenty seven.
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  Speaker 1: What else is slated for Kennedy Road. Kennedy Road in
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  Speaker 1: Yorkville is the starting point for the Illinois Department of
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  Speaker 1: Transportations i DOT Illinois Route forty seven expansion project to
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  Speaker 1: help abate traffic congestion and accommodate the region's growing population
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  Speaker 1: that the project is expanding the entire Route forty seven
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  Speaker 1: corridor from Kennedy Road in Yorkville out to Cross Street
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  Speaker 1: and Sugar Grove. The construction is projected from twenty twenty
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  Speaker 1: seven to twenty nine. Dues previously said while the lengthy
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  Speaker 1: construction period will cause some traffic headaches for commuters, it
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  Speaker 1: will definitely be worth it in the long run. Dues
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  Speaker 1: said driver will see a huge improvement in traffic flows,
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  Speaker 1: which will hopefully alleviate the half mile backups during rush
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  Speaker 1: hour that commuters currently experience. I DOT is involved in
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  Speaker 1: all parts of the project, including widening the intersections at
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  Speaker 1: Root forty seven and Galena Road. Once completed, Route forty
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  Speaker 1: seven will be widened and expanded, and will feature pathways
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  Speaker 1: and bridges more accessible to pedestrians.