Morris, Channahon and Minooka receive $320,000 grant for Route 6 traffic study

The Illinois Department of Transportation has selected a joint application from the city of Morris, village of Channahon and village of Minooka to receive a $320,000 Statewide Planning and Research grant for a traffic study on East Route 6.

“It’s nice to have a partnership with these guys and good relationship with Channahon, Minooka and Grundy County,” said Morris Mayor Chris Brown. “The grant is federal, so the state has no portion, and there’s five or six of us involved. The money is divided equally.”

Brown said the goal is to be proactive and get ahead of the Canadian National intermodal project, taking a look at what the future might hold for the region from Route 47.

“[Route 6] is starting to fall apart, and it’s kind of a mess, so we’re hoping we can get ahead of it and start going for more federal dollars,” Brown said.

Channahon announced that it received the grant Aug. 21.

“We are pleased to have such strong support from IDOT in identifying vital transportation improvements for our region,” Village President Missey Moorman Schumacher said. “The existing projects and those in process for the Channahon-Minooka-Morris area of Grundy County will have impacts on the greater region as a whole. With these projects, it’s imperative that we analyze the existing infrastructure in the area and plan for improvements that need to be made to accommodate them.”

Channahon’s portion of the match is $15,000, and all local organizations involved will commit a total of $65,000 in funding.

“I’m thrilled that our regional partners accepted our invitation to work together for the betterment of the region and for their continued show of support in improving transportation for our entire area,” Moorman Schumacher said. “The Statewide Planning and Research funds grant will allow us to work with our regional partners to continue the process of long-term infrastructure planning for the region.”

The SPR funds are federal dollars for Illinois’ statewide planning and research activities. The funds are used to establish a cooperative, continuous and comprehensive framework for making transportation investment decisions and to carry out transportation research activities throughout the state, according to a news release.

Canadian National purchased about 900 acres of land west of McLinden Road in 2019 with intentions to develop it into an intermodal logistics hub. Although most of the land falls within the village of Channahon, the project could result in about 250,000 additional trucks per year on area roads, according to a June story in The Morris Herald-News.