Will County Engineer Sheldon Latz said Thursday that adding lanes to overcrowded roads isn’t a long-term solution to increasing traffic congestion on county roads.
But Latz acknowledged that finding necessary funding is “a dream. Until we get some other source of funding, we’re going to be hitting a gridlock.”
Latz said after the County Board’s Executive Committee meeting Thursday that officials must think about developing a new network of roads to reduce pressures on the current thoroughfares.
County Board Chairman Jim Moustis (R-Frankfort) said he is proposing $50 million in bonding to add lanes and improve intersections on high-pressure roads. The bonding wouldn’t tap taxpayers for funds.
But board member Cory Singer (R-Frankfort) warned that amount of money “doesn’t get you a real big bang.” Singer, who chairs the board’s public works and transportation committee, said projects costs $10 million a mile, including right of way, engineering and construction.
Singer said Moustis presented a “short-term fix,” but “we can’t lose sight of the need for a dedicated revenue stream. We need to plan for our roads today and it can’t just be bonding.”
That approach has drawn fire from John Greuling, president and chief executive of the Will County Center for Economic Development, who charged in a letter published last month in a local newspaper that county officials lack the will to increase taxes. County roads, he said, must be improved to meet distribution centers’ growing infrastructure demands.
Moustis has repeatedly argued against a referendum proposal on a tax that would cover road improvements, reasoning it would not pass.
More Top Picks Best Desktop Video Magnifiers For Low Vision
In the meantime, Latz said, the county is focusing on improving roads to capacity with whatever funds it can find.