Huntley Begins Manning Road Deal For I90 Full Interchange

The Huntley Village Board began a complicated process Thursday to take over Manning Road so the Village's long-awaited full Route 47 interchange with I90 can actually begin construction perhaps as early as next year.

Manning connects to 47 right in the middle of the proposed interchange and Illinois Department of Transportation safety engineers say that won't work.  The road belongs to Kane County, though and IDOT regs also say Kane can't close it off from 47.  However, the regs say the Village could if it actually owned it so Huntley and Kane are trying to work out a deal.

If Huntley were getting a truck from Kane the village would have to pay for it.  In the strange world of roads, though, Kane has to pay Huntley since Village's taking it over would involve paying to maintain the thing from here to eternity.  Village Manager Dave Johnson said his planners figured $200,000 would be a reasonable price to do that but Kane's negotiators thought $100,000 was better.  He said they'd probably end up more or less splitting the difference. "It's an important part of the overall puzzle," said Johnson.

"If they don't give us any more we'll go ahead as it is," said Mayor Chuck Sass, but he still grumbled that, "It's a terrible road."

In other action the Board OK'ed formal votes on zoning variances for the new FYH Bearing distribution center planned at the end of Jim Dhamer Drive and on an expansion of the Crocker food package facility on Smith Drive off Kreutzer.  Crocker owner Ron Giordano said business has picked up so much he's already hired 14 more people and he needs more room.  Giordano said half the popular Keurig single-serving coffee packets in the U.S. run through the facility.