Cost of Plank Road roundabout grows to $3M

SYCAMORE – The total cost to construct a roundabout planned for the intersection of Plank, Lindgren and North Grove roads in Sycamore has increased to $3 million, according to local officials.

The project cost has increased by 50%, according to DeKalb-Sycamore Area Transportation Study, or DSATS, documents.

In January 2024, DeKalb County Engineer Nathan Schwartz presented plans for the proposed construction project which estimated project costs to be $1.5 million. By November 2024, the estimated cost had risen to $2.5 million, according to DeKalb County documents.

Now, the installation of a roundabout at the northeast Sycamore intersection is estimated to cost $3 million, according to transportation study records. DSTATS is the federally-designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for the DeKalb, Sycamore and Cortland area.

At a DSATS Transportation Advisory Committee meeting on Feb. 5, organization coordinator Jacob Johnson explained why the cost has increased.

“It is now $3 million due to the fact the roundabout has to stay open during construction, so it will cause an increase in cost,” Johnson said.

Sycamore Engineer Mark Bushnell, who chaired the committee meeting, said entirely closing the intersection for construction wasn’t feasible.

“The cost increase was just to allow the intersection to remain open for traffic,” Bushnell said. “There really isn’t a good bypass.”

If the intersection of Plank, Lindgren and N. Grove roads were to close, residents of the subdivision adjacent to North Grove Elementary School would have to drive more than 2.5 miles to Darnell Road to be able to navigate their way back to the city of Sycamore.

Members of the committee in the meeting included representatives of the cities of DeKalb and Sycamore, Cortland Township, as well as DeKalb County, Northern Illinois University and Illinois Department of Transportation District 3.

They all voted to approve an amendment to the fiscal 2025-2029 Transportation Improvement Program that included the 50% cost increase.

Schwartz, who was absent from the meeting, has said construction on the roundabout is expected to start this year, though project completion isn’t expected until 2026.

The federal government is expected to finance the vast majority of the project, $2.9 million of the estimated $3 million total cost, according to DSATS documents.

Johnson said funds from the Highway Safety Improvement Program administered by the Federal Highways Administration will make up a majority of the $2.9 million of federal funds that will be used to finance the roundabout.

“We did receive HSIP money, totaling $2.5 million for the project,” Johnson said. “The remaining $500,000 will be by the local match, 80, 20 split.”