Kendall County Times

Kendall County Highway Committee met June 10.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

MEMBERS PRESENT: Jason Peterson, Scott Gengler, and Brooke Shanley

STAFF PRESENT: Michele Riley and Francis Klaas

ALSO PRESENT: PJ Fitzpatrick

The committee meeting convened at 3:33 P.M. with roll call of committee members. Bachmann and Koukol absent. Quorum established.

Motion Shanley; second Gengler, to approve the agenda. Motion approved unanimously.

Motion Shanley; second Gengler, to approve the Highway Committee minutes from May 13, 2025. Motion approved unanimously.

Klaas reported that the agenda item for an altered speed limit on Plainfield Road was not ready for action at this time. Highway Department had not yet collected all the data necessary to make a recommendation to the Board. He indicated that there had been some complaints about accidents and speeds… specifically near the Plainfield-Simons-Schlapp intersection, as well as the segment near Oswego Plains and Southfield Estates. Current speed limit is 55 mph between Oswego and Ridge Road. The Department was looking at the possibility of lowering to 50 mph. Shanley thought it would be best to collect the necessary data and then have a full discussion on the matter. Committee agreed. This issue will be brought back to a future meeting.

Motion Gengler; second Shanley to recommend approval of a Preliminary Engineering Services Agreement between Kendall County and Hutchison Engineering, Inc. for Phase I Engineering Services on Ridge Road from Caton Farm Road to Plainfield Road in an amount not to exceed $1,442,000. Klaas described the project, which is a widening of Ridge Road to 4 lanes from Caton Farm Road in Joliet to Plainfield Road in Plainfield. The consulting engineering firm, Hutchison Engineering, is the same firm that is working on Phase 2 Engineering for the Ridge Road section between Holt Road in Minooka and Black Road in Joliet. Highway Department has been very happy with the work they have been doing on the latter section, which is why they are being recommended for the next section of Ridge Road. Motion approved unanimously by voice vote.

Motion Shanley; second Gengler to recommend approval of a Preliminary Engineering Services Agreement between Kendall County and HR Green for Phase 1 / Phase 2 Engineering Services on Galena Road from Eldamain Road to Ill. Rte. 47 in an amount not to exceed $510,000.95. Klaas reported that this project was not in the 5-Year Plan, but was being driven by the proposed data centers in Yorkville along Galena Road. The specific improvements would include widening Galena Road from a 2-lane cross section to a 3-lane cross section, providing for left turns at all intersections. Klaas indicated that this project had been discussed at a previous meeting, and the consensus of the committee was that it would be a good faith effort on the part of the County to be engaged in engineering for the road improvement because the County will be requesting that the data centers fully fund the construction of the road improvement. Gengler asked if this project would be completed before the widening of Route 47 in this area. Klaas didn’t know. He had spoken with Krysti Barksdale-Noble from the City of Yorkville recently, and although the coordination with the data centers is progressing, it could be some time before they are formally approved and move forward. Gengler followed up by asking what would be the ideal situation for construction timing on the two projects. Klaas thought that it really wouldn’t matter. Galena Road is an asphalt roadway and could tie into just about anything the State builds for Route 47. PJ Fitzpatrick stated that HR Green is also designing the Route 47 improvement in this area, so it will be easy for them to coordinate the two improvements. Fitzpatrick and committee members then discussed the timing of multiple improvements proposed on Route 47 both north and south of Yorkville. Gengler asked Fitzpatrick about the railroad crossing in Sugar Grove and the status of that design. Fitzpatrick thought the design was largely completed, and it was just a matter of coordination and permitting with the railroad, which is frequently difficult and time consuming. Upon further consideration, motion approved unanimously by voice vote.

Motion Shanley; second Gengler to recommend approval of a Preliminary Engineering Services Agreement between Kendall County and HR Green for Phase 1 / Phase 2 Engineering Services at the Galena Road – Little Rock Road intersection in an amount not to exceed $458,512.82. Klaas stated that this project was budgeted in the 5-Year Plan, with construction scheduled in 2027. The existing intersection is already a 4-way stop and gets pretty congested during rush hours. Gengler wondered whether there was already something planned at that intersection as it appears to have some excess land in the northwest quadrant. Klaas said that there used to be a separated southbound right turn lane in that area but the Highway Department eliminated that years ago because it was creating confusion for the drivers at the intersection. Peterson asked who owned that property where the right turn lane was. Klaas stated that most of the excess land was public right-of-way, but private property abuts it. He thought that there would be plenty of space to locate a roundabout without significantly impacting the existing residential properties on the west side. Committee had a general discussion about roundabouts in Kendall County. Members agreed that the Kendall County roundabouts appeared to be working well. Shanley and others thought the Wolf’s Road roundabout was confusing for many drivers. Motion to forward the agreement to the County Board was approved unanimously by voice vote.

In other business, Gengler asked what was left to be done at the Galena Road – Cannonball Trail intersection. Klaas stated that just punch list items were left to be completed. He added that Montgomery seems to be happy with the north leg, which will be under their jurisdiction, and for which they will be paying the County over $1 million. Gengler also asked about Yorkville’s recent improvement to Van Emmon Road, and suggested that the County might consider taking that over as a County Highway within the corporate limits. Klaas agreed that the goal of the County over the past years has been to make county highways start and stop at other county highways or State highways… which is the very definition of a county highway. The County has done this for numerous roads in Newark, Millington, Plano, and Yorkville. Klaas suggested that it might be a good time to consider it, now that Yorkville has made improvements to the road. Gengler asked about the Hale Street improvement in Plano and wondered if the County was involved in that project. Klaas indicated that the work was a total reconstruction of the existing roadway, but that it was a Plano municipal project.

Motion Gengler; second Shanley, to forward Highway Department bills for the month of June in the amount of $1,167,427.23 to the Finance Committee for approval. Gengler asked about the $1 million – plus bill for Grove Road. Klaas stated this was for the resurfacing of Grove Road from Rte. 126 to U.S. Rte. 52. Committee members also discussed the recent bridge projects that have begun on Caton Farm Road and also on Minkler Road. Motion to approve bills was approved unanimously by voice vote.

Motion Shanley; second Gengler to adjourn the meeting at 3:58 PM. Motion carried unanimously.

Action Items

1. Preliminary Engineering Services Agreement between Kendall County and Hutchison Engineering, Inc. for Phase I Engineering Services on Ridge Road from Caton Farm Road to Plainfield Road in an amount not to exceed $1,442,000

2. Preliminary Engineering Services Agreement between Kendall County and HR Green for Phase 1 / Phase 2 Engineering Services on Galena Road from Eldamain Road to Ill. Rte. 47 in an amount not to exceed $510,000.95

3. Preliminary Engineering Services Agreement between Kendall County and HR Green for Phase 1 / Phase 2 Engineering Services at the Galena Road – Little Rock Road intersection in an amount not to exceed $458,512.82

https://www.kendallcountyil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/33260