Good News for LaFox Commuters: Kane County Getting Ready to Extend Bunker Road
Among the very cool things that the Kane County Division of Transportation does on a regular basis is to realign roads that were built years ago and just aren’t moving traffic as effectively as they ought to in the 21st century.
Take a look, for example, at the plans for the realignment of Bliss Road (which my daughter drives nearly every weekday on her way to Waubonsee Community College) or the plans now becoming reality for the Plank Road realignment in beautiful downtown Burlington.
Now comes word of another road extension, which should come as really good news for a lot of Kane County drivers and Metra commuters.
Preliminary engineering is now under way to extend Bunker Road from its current northern terminus at the LaFox Metra station, to LaFox Road north of the LaFox Village District Center, in unincorporated Blackberry Township.
The project has been identified in the county’s adopted long-range transportation plans since the late 1990s, as an improvement that could reduce congestion and provide a better north/south connection in the central portion of the county.
The proposed extension length is about 5,000 feet and incorporates the existing underpass of the Union Pacific railroad tracks, which was constructed as part of the Metra West Line extension in 2006 to accommodate the proposed Bunker Road extension.
Another unique element to the project is a planned roundabout for the intersection of Bunker and Keslinger Roads. A roundabout at this location is considered safer than a traditional stop sign or signal-controlled intersection, will be more effective at reducing congestion, and will have lower long-term maintenance costs.
Through its award-winning Qualifications Based Selection process, the Kane County Division of Transportation selected WBK Engineering to provide professional design services.
The proposed extension roadway is planned to be county funded and maintained. Although preliminary engineering is nearly complete, construction won’t likely begin until sometime after 2017.
