Darin LaHood

Growth in Grundy County took a huge step with an announcement from local and federal officials that an interchange along I-80 and Minooka Road is in the works.

U.S. U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood of Illinois’ 16th Congressional District appeared at the Grundy County Government Offices to present county officials with a $5 million check, courtesy of Community Project Funding from the federal government.

“This is a great day for Grundy County,” LaHood (R-Ill.) said on Sept. 4. “The new interchange will provide better and more direct access to the neighboring industrial district, which has experienced significant growth and has the potential to support substantial additional investment and job creation.”

The interchange will be in between exits 116 (Brisbin Road) and 122 (Ridge Road) along I-80.

“Improving access on I-80 will help strengthen the movement of goods, better connect local businesses to regional and national markets, and make Grundy County even more competitive for employers looking to invest and expand,” LaHood said. “The interchange will help unlock the full economic potential of the surrounding area by supporting existing employers and opening the door to new private investment and development for good-paying jobs in the area.”

The $5 million in federal funds will cover the first of three phases of the interchange project.

Grundy County Engineer Eric Gibson said the initial phase will include financial, construction and environmental authorizations from the state, as well as a site survey and development of transportation projections for the area.

Another aspect of phase one is gauging community input through public meetings on ways to avoid negatively impacting the community with this new project.

“A lot of the time, community concerns with interchange projects are going to be with noise and truck traffic, so we would look to delineate the signs, striping, noise walls, landscaping walls and things along those lines,” Gibson said.

Phase one should take between three and five years to complete.

The next step in getting the project underway is to set a list of qualifications for potential firms to make the appropriate site evaluations and project studies for the interchange.

Once phase one of the interchange project is completed, the Illinois Department of Transportation takes the reins for the final two phases of the project, which are design and construction.

Gibson said that projections are for those two phases to take a combined ten years to complete, putting the interchange project on pace for a completion date around 2040 or 2041.

“This is a milestone day for everyone in Grundy County,” Grundy County Board Chairman Drew Muffler said. “This is going to help us as we continue to transition from a traditional rural county into a rural/suburban hybrid.”