On Monday, Aug. 25, a public informational meeting was held on the ongoing Steward-Caron Roads Industrial Corridor (SCRIC) study, which is being conducted by Blackhawk Hills Regional Council at the request of the City of Rochelle, Village of Steward and Lee County regarding the development between Rochelle’s southeastern industrial area and Steward.

The meeting was attended by community stakeholders and presented draft final recommendations. The study aims to improve conditions around current and future development for the best interests of the area. The Aug. 25 meeting was held at Rochelle City Hall in the council chambers. The study started in November 2023 and will conclude its findings and recommendations at the end of September.

The SCRIC Strategic Plan focuses on Steward and Caron Roads and areas accessed by the roads and considers activity within a five-mile corridor. It looks to address current transportation issues, such as truck traffic through the Village of Steward, and to keep them from getting worse in the future. The area of the study has seen industrial development in recent years and it’s expected it will see more, with multiple current ongoing projects at various levels for new development.

“If there continues to be development along this corridor, what is that going to look like in the future?” BHRC Executive Director Daniel Payette said. “We have a really good opportunity to work on that now because a lot of that area is not built out yet. We’ve taken a look at the corridor, the transportation aspects, the economic development potential, and potential conflicts between different types of industry and transportation.”

The meeting was led by Alan Meyers of WSP USA, a consultant on the project, who presented findings and a number of different plans to make for best traffic flows.

Meyers said the strengths of the corridor include diversity of existing industrial uses, recent growth showing market interest, land available for development, rail transload for interstate proximity, and established communities. Challenges include truck conflicts through Rochelle and Steward including safety, noise and emissions; rail activity, potential impacts of growth on communities, and residential, bike/pedestrian and open space amenities, he said.

The area is predominantly industrial and agricultural, other than the Village of Steward. The area also includes a planned Steward Creek Solar energy facility, the first phase of which is planned for 1,200 megawatts, which would be the largest capacity facility of its kind in the country.

The Village of Steward has long had concerns about truck traffic through the village and 24-hour truck traffic counts were done during the study.

“We had about 200 trucks going eastbound on Main Street and Perry Road and about 175 going west on Main Street and Perry Road,” Meyers said. “It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it has a lot of impact. I stood there and listened to the noise and watched them clang and bang over the railroad crossing and go past the school. It’s not a place that can accommodate a significant amount of traffic. The numbers have disproportionate impacts and we recognized that early on.”

The Aug. 25 presentation detailed concept plans to ease truck traffic through Steward that would relocate Interstate 39 southbound on and off ramps further north to bypass the village. The bypasses would be shorter, faster and avoid rail crossings.

Four similar concepts were presented, but preferred by Meyers and attendees Aug. 25 was a concept that would relocate southbound on and off ramps west of Interstate 39 between Steward and Interstate 39 with a roundabout and a new Steward and Elva Road alignment.

“It would be faster and safer for the truckers and show up on their GPS and keep trucks out of the Village of Steward,” Meyers said. “It would be north of the village and would come to a roundabout or T intersection. We like roundabouts but we’re not married to the idea. All of the access to the village would remain in place and all the roads used today could still be used.”

The plans also include potential for green space buffers between roads for noise and visuals, bike/pedestrian paths, rail improvements and land planning.

“We think this whole program has a series of value propositions,” Meyers said. “Economic value in terms of supporting the Village of Steward’s future development, potential for more than 10,000 new jobs if you build out all of these parcels, and potential to drive residential development in the area. Compared to no action, your transportation value in terms of time and cost savings for users is going to be tremendous along with reductions in emissions and crashes, and community value, protecting the village to accommodate growth and provide more green space and bike/pedestrian access.”

The estimated construction cost for the project is a total of $50 million in terms of dollar value by the time it’s completed. The project would start with three years of preliminary engineering and environmental work, before two years of applications, final plans, right of way and permits, and 2.5 years of construction for a total of 7.5 years.

“We’d have to find funding through the Illinois Department of Transportation and get it through Federal Highway Administration grants and the Federal Railroad Administration,” Meyers said. “Local contributions would be pretty nominal. It’s an expensive proposition and not easy. It has to be a long process due to the federal involvement with the interchange.”