Plank Road work could cost millions, take years, says DeKalb County engineer

SYCAMORE – The next steps for the realignment of a stretch of Plank road northeast of Sycamore was approved by DeKalb County Board this week, but officials said the project is years away from being shovel-ready.

DeKalb County Engineer Nathan Schwartz said the engineering services agreement the DeKalb County Board awarded to Aurora-based engineering firm Crawford, Murphy & Tilly for $553,452 on Wednesday is for the first phase of engineering for the project, which would shift a 3-mile stretch of Plank Road to the east.

The total cost for the project is estimated between $12 and $15 million, the most for a road project in DeKalb County history, but those numbers aren’t final, Schwartz said.

He said that’s why the phase one engineering service agreement is worth $553,452.

“That’s a lot more than what we normally spend on preliminary engineering, but then again this project costing probably $12 to $15 million for realignment is also a lot more than we usually spend on a construction project,” Schwartz said. “When we look at the percentage of the engineering versus the construction cost this falls right in line with where it should be.”

The proposed concept plan would realign Plank Road to the north of the roadway’s intersection of North Grove Road by curving east and reconnecting at the intersection with Lukens Road, DeKalb County documents show.

The contracted engineering firm will look at the exact route a realignment would take, examine the archaeological and biological impacts of the proposed project, what properties would be affected by the decision, and other factors, according to DeKalb County documents.

“It’s really kind of the permitting part of the engineering,” Schwartz said. “That will probably take a couple of years, by the time all of that is done. And then we will later proceed with the design, putting the actual plans and specifications together so we can go out to bid.”

Schwartz will host a public meeting to discuss the realignment of Plank Road from 5 to 7 p.m. Nov. 14, inside the DeKalb County Legislative Center, 200 N. Main St, Sycamore. He said a proposed roundabout at Plank Road and Lindgren Road, near North Grove Elementary School, will also be discussed during the meeting.

That project is separate from the Plank Road realignment initiative, which Schwartz said he’s been working toward for more than a decade.

History of Plank Road realignment

Schwartz said in 2012, a couple of years after he began working for DeKalb County, he realized that crashes on Plank Road don’t predominantly occur near the road’s intersection with Moose Range Road, but instead happen along a 3-mile stretch of the road, near where it connects with Moose Range Road.

By doing what he called a deep dive into the crashes that have occurred along the road, he said he discovered that the intersection with Moose Range Road wasn’t the issue.

“One of the things I’ve realized is people are in so much of a hurry when driving Plank Road that they make poor decisions,” Schwartz said. “People will pass in no-passing zones, they will pass when vehicles are coming toward them and they think they might have enough room to get around the car, and they speed very much over the speed limit.”

With a better understanding of the situation, Schwartz and DeKalb County applied for federally funded safety grant through the Illinois Department of Transportation to realign in 2013 but were denied. He said the state agency asked for them to try small fixes before they’d authorize grant funding for a road realignment.

Heeding their advice, Schwartz’ office applied for another road safety grant a couple of years later to repave the road, add rumble strips and paved shoulders and improve lighting at intersections. That request was approved, and the projects have been completed but Schwartz said crashes continue to occur along the stretch of road he’s studied.

“We did a lot of stuff and we still have crashes out there on Moose Range, and I believe that’s because we’re not addressing the root cause of the problems,” he said. “People are in so much of a hurry they make bad decisions out there.”

Other roads, like Route 23 have long stretches of flat roadway where drivers can pass more safely than they could on Plank Road, Schwartz said.

More recently, Schwartz’ office has conducted a study of the proposed realignment, and held public outreach meetings to better understand the community’s experience on the road.

While Schwartz said drivers impatience is often a factor in crashes in the area, he also said realigning the roadway would allow for safer travel.

“There are so many little curves and little hills, in addition to the major ones, that there is just not enough safe places for people to pass,” Schwartz said. “People make these poor choices, passing whenever they think they might have a chance, whether it’s safe or not. So in general, we like to think that a simpler road is a safer road. For example, a straight road doesn’t require as much concentration and people paying attention as a curvy and hilly road.”