Yorkville gets almost $500,000 for Route 47 additions

Southwest suburban Yorkville has been awarded an almost $492,000 grant for enhancements along the Route 47 project. But to accept it, the city will have to find about $310,000 in matching funds during the next several years.

The money would go toward street lighting and other landscape improvements on the Route 47 widening project. The widening is due to start soon, although a specific start date has not been announced by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

The $45 million Route 47 widening is a three-year project being done in three phases, the first being from Somonauk Road to Route 126, which includes downtown.

When the City Council approved its participation in the project, aldermen cut down some of the cost to the city by cutting out certain items in the project. That included decorative lighting and landscaping.

As it stands now, the project includes new lighting only at intersections where there will be traffic signals installed. The project also includes "roughed-in" conduit for additional or decorative street lighting.

Aldermen and city officials decided they could try to find other funding at a later date to add more lighting along Route 47 downtown, and applied for the state grant last May.

The entire enhancement project is estimated to be just under $900,000, with the city's share being about $390,000.

In a memo this week announcing the grant award, City Administrator Bart Olson said the city has about $80,000 in downtown tax increment financing district money available and eligible for the match. The city would have to find about $310,000 from the budget for the rest of the match.

Olson estimated that with time to get the grant money, focus the scope of the project, bidding and all related items, it could be four to five years before the city would have to come up with its match.