The Huntley Farmside

              35(}:
Volume 40 No. 13
Your hometown newspaper
Thursday April 13,2000
© 2000 Press-Republican Newspapers
Huntley Farmside photo by Pat Kolle
The signs are up, but the road work on Route 47 has been delayed until April 16.
Construction delayed
Crews will begin work on Route 47 April 17
by Susan Bohme
Huntley Farmside editor
Bright orange signs posted along Illinois Highway 47 and Main Street in Huntley warned motorists that road construction would begin April 10. It didn't. But, never fear, this is not anoth¬ er lengthy delay. Contractors will begin work on the intersection Monday, according to Huntley Public Works Director, Jim Schwartz.
IThe first round last fall was the utilities moving stuff back. Ameritech ended up upgrading a lot of their stuff while they were in there, and that ended up delay¬ ing the project until this spring,! Schwartz said.
Now the utility lines are moved, the temporary lights have been installed, the railroad cross¬
ings are set, and everyone is ready to go. Schwartz said repre¬ sentatives of Alliance of Woodstock, the general contrac¬ tor for the project, told him that at this point they plan to work only during the day for the six to eight weeks it should take to com¬ plete the project, which calls for pulling back the four corners of the intersection to make room for left turn lanes in all four direc¬ tions, with a staging area for eight to ten cars in each lane; and widening a half block of Main Street just west of Highway 47 by about half a lane.
To minimize headaches for motorists trying to get through the intersection, crews will work on one side of the street at a time, so that one lane of traffic will always be open, Schwartz said.
Officials from School District 158, which has dozens of buses going through the intersection every day, say they have made plans to accommodate any possi¬ ble reroutings, and they do not expect any major bus delays.
A construction meeting is scheduled this week with offi¬ cials from the Illinois Department of Transportation, Alliance, the village and School District 158 to discuss traffic routing and other issues related to the project, according to Schwartz.
Making the best of a bad situa¬ tion, Huntley Collision Center, which will be boxed in by con¬ struction crews, is offering a pick up and delivery service for people needing estimates, or hav¬ ing work done on their vehicles.
Himtley Farmside gets a new editor
Hello, my name is Sue Bohme and I am the new city editor for the Huntley Farmside and Marengo Press newspa¬ pers. As such, I will-be in charge of writing stories, editing stories submitted by correspondents and community members, and designing the newspaper pages.
Prior to taking this job, I worked as a freelance writer for the Chicago Tribune, covering local news and events in various communities throughout McHenry County.
I have lived in Huntley with my husband and our four children for five years. Now that our youngest has started first grade, I am returning to full-time work.
I have high hopes for the Huntley Farmside and I welcome your input in mak¬ ing this newspaper the best community resource it can be. I encourage you to sub-
Susan Bohme
mit information on commu¬ nity organizations, upcom¬ ing events, school news and other items of local inter¬ est. I would also encourage you to send in letters on topics of importance to you for the opinions page.
I will be working out of the Huntley office, 11801 Main St., Huntley, IL 60142. I can be reached by tele¬ phone at (847) 669-5621, by fax at (847) 669-5623, or by e-mail at
Huntley _Marengonews@hot mail.com.
Public Works to move into new home in fall
The Huntley Public Works Department offices are currently in a trailer sitting near the water treatment plant on Main Street, but not for long.
The village is closing this week on the pur¬ chasing of a 43,000 square foot building across Main Street, at 11000 Bakley Drive, that will be the depart- mentis new home.
The building, which cost $1.67 million, needs $600,000 in reno¬ vations to before the department will be able
to move in completely, according to Public Works Director Jim Schwartz.
The move in date will probably be sometime in November or December, Schwartz said, however, depart¬ ment employees will be able to use locker rooms in the building right away.
Schwartz said he expects this building to serve the needs of the public works depart¬ ment for the next 15 to 20 years.