(Photo by Gregory Harutunian/for Chronicle Media)

The Illinois Tollway Authority Board awarded contracts for an environmental impact statement (EIS) and review of the Route 53/120 extension project, during its May 25 session.

The unanimous 8-0 vote for approval included a capital outlay not to exceed $25 million, along with a timeframe of three to five years for its completion.

Additionally, letters of support to the board, from numerous Lake County governmental and transportation agencies, urged the board to take action and move forward on the EIS, as a precursor to eventual construction. McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks also sent an individual letter backing the project, as did North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham, Fox Lake Mayor Donnie Schmit, and the Lake County Council of Mayors.

Two firms, the Englewood, Colo.-based CH2M Hill, Inc. and Knight E/A, Inc., of Chicago, will share the contract payment and were retained to conduct the EIS together, and submit their findings to the full board for their consideration. The impact statement would also encompass suggestions for the type of tollway, the proposed route, and its actual need in the area.

“The contract is for an amount not to exceed $25 million, and was jointly awarded to both firms, so there’s no breakdown on how much each company will receive from this contract,” Dan Rozek, The Illinois Tollway Communications Manager. “

The Tollway Board Chairman, Bob Schillerstrom, said, “With support from residents and communities across Lake and McHenry Counties, the tollway took another step forward on the Route 53/120 project by approving professional services agreements for the federally-mandated environmental impact statement. The comprehensive analysis will provide a fact-based evaluation on alternatives that achieve the most congestion relief, while balancing environmental impact.

“Every day, families and businesses in Lake and McHenry counties are faced with traffic congestion that means time away from their families and lost productivity at work,” he said. “The region needs a comprehensive, long-term solution to reduce traffic gridlock.”

The recommendation for an environmental impact statement came from a 2012 Blue Ribbon Advisory Council (BRAC) comprised of Lake County board members, village administrators and mayors in the county, and other legislative officials. It also added a basis for an economic boon, while funding requirements were tabbed at $40-$50 million over a five-year period.

However, county support began to erode when Lake County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor withdrew his support for the project one year ago, in lieu of a “high quality” sustainable environmental program to protect natural resources and include a trail through the corridor. He cited a perceived inability to fund the estimated $2.65 billion project.

Last December, the tollway board approved its fiscal year 2017 budget, Rozek said, and included $17.3 million for emerging projects and planning studies, new technology initiatives, a tree-planting program, additional commercial truck parking opportunities along the Tri-State Tollway (I-294), potential ramp and interchange improvements, and a portion of the EIS for the Route 53/120 project. There was no decision made to advance the project, at that time.

“The tollway leadership understands the complexity and challenges in moving the Route 53/120 project forward,’ said Schillerstrom. “We are committed to working with elected officials, communities, and key stakeholders in an inclusive and transparent process that considers, among all options, the innovative work completed by the Blue Ribbon Advisory Council to deliver a 21st century solution that values congestion relief and environmental stewardship.”

The Lake County Transportation Alliance, through member Linda Soto, sent one of the many letters touting the planned extension. It reaffirmed the agency’s support for “an environmental review of the Route 53/120 Project, and urge your support for the contract before you, at your meeting on May 25, 2017. We feel strongly that having an appropriate review through the EIS process will provide all stakeholders with the critical information necessary to make an informed decision on how to best solve our transportation challenges.”

Lake County board members also attached their names to approval for the EIS: Linda Pedersen (District 1), Tom Weber (District 3), Judy Martini (District 5), Jeff Werfel (District 6), Mary Ross Cunningham (District 9), Carol Calabresa (District 15), Terry Wilke (District 16), Michael Danforth (District 17), Craig Taylor (District 19), and Sidney Mathias (District 20).

Proposed in the early 1960s, the intended pathway carries a right-of-way designation as a federal project, marked by signage, F.A.P. 342, leading across county highways, farm fields in the Lake Zurich-Hawthorn Woods region, through a residential subdivision in Mundelein, and turning northwest to the Volo-Lakemoor area. The southwest corner of the intersection of routes 12 and 120, in Lakemoor, will see a Woodman’s Foods store anchoring a commercial development.

The state has acquired nearly two-thirds of the properties necessary for the 25-mile corridor.

The Illinois Tollway Authority Board passed a resolution in Dec. 2015 to authorize a nearly $45 million environmental impact study (EIS), with a $6 million opening annual outlay and an initial timeline for the report to be finished in 2020. The EIS would determine the corridor’s viability of extending Route 53 through Lake County, from its southern terminus at Lake-Cook Road, north to Route 120. The southwest corner of the intersection of routes 12 and 120 in Lakemoor will see commercial development in the next year with a Woodman’s Foods store anchoring the site.

The entire project, estimated to cost between $2.3 billion to $2.65 billion, and a funding gap said to be $1.36 billion to $1.91 billion, raised concerns over mechanisms that will provide the monies needed to finance the project’s construction and ancillary costs. The BRAC report indicated the cost for using the 25-mile roadway would be set at 20 cents per mile, with additional charges during rush hour periods listed as “congestion pricing.”

Similarly, it also recommended a 4 cent-per-gallon gas tax across the county, with half the generated revenues going to the Route 53/120 project, and the other proceeds used for transportation priorities in the county.

Another proposal is the creation of a special taxing district that would “capture 25 percent of the real estate value for adjacent new non-residential development that would be dedicated to the Environmental Restoration and Stewardship Fund,” according to a Lake County communications website (www.ilroute53.org), which lists information about the project.

“My decision is very clear, and hasn’t changed,” said Lawlor, after the tollway board vote. “I still have concerns over outdated financial projections that could saddle the project’s already $2 billion budget deficit with $70 million in escalation costs, compounded annually. This jeopardizes the community and environmental safeguards … fostered by the tollway in recent years, and are central to the commitment I made to the public.

“We can all agree that Illinois is broke. That requires us to be realistic in our approach to expanding our state’s transportation system … the plan relies on significant appropriations and multiple state bills for (remaining) land acquisition,” he said. “Illinois’ transportation system requires a $20 billion investment in roads and highways, and spending $30 billion on public transit system, which currently carry commuters over bridges dating back to the Theodore Roosevelt administration. That’s $50 billion to keep running on existing roads, bridges, rails, and commuter schedules.”

However, the anticipated economic impact of the extension, through gas stations and restaurants at the exit points offering potential retail and property tax revenues for the county, is seen as the driving force behind the extension.

In a letter to the tollway authority, Island Lake Mayor Charles Amrich said, “In 2015, the Tollway Authority voted to spend up to $50 million on an Environmental Impact Study. To date, the study is stalled. We need to move this study forward to answer any environmental questions pertaining to this project. I believe the Route 53/120 project will help to relieve congestion problems in Lake County, while helping to enhance economic development.”

Requests for comment from the two firms collaborating on the EIS were not returned.