DeKalb County Board slates $250K in gas tax funds for pending Plank Road realignment

Before going on recess in July, the DeKalb County Board tapped $250,000 in motor fuel tax revenue to help pay for the proposed realignment of Plank Road.

Before going on recess in July, the DeKalb County Board tapped $250,000 in motor fuel tax revenue to help pay for the proposed realignment of Plank Road. On June 17, the Board approved payment for engineering services associated with the realignment of Plank Road. If the plans to reshape the northern DeKalb County roadway come to fruition, a 3-mile stretch of road between Lindren and Lukens Road will be completely redone, according to county documents.

Aurora-based engineering firm Crawford, Murphy & Tilly was awarded a $553,452 contract for the project in 2024 by the DeKalb County Board. The Board greenlit the use of local and motor fuel tax funds to pay the contract. However, only $100,000 from the allotment of motor fuel tax funds was submitted to the Illinois Department of Transportation, according to county documents.

In November 2024, while hosting an open house for DeKalb County residents who could be impacted by the realignment of Plank Road , DeKalb County Engineer Nathan Schwartz said the proposed project was estimated to cost between $12 million and $15 million. In May, DeKalb County Administrator Ruth Kedzior said about $35 million is expected to be invested into the Peace and Plank Road corridor by the mid-2030s. That, however, includes work that is already underway or completed on Peace Road.

Despite being years into the planning process, the county has not yet begun negotiating with landowners who could be directly impacted by a realignment of Plank Road. In June, Schwartz said that’s because federal policy means the county has to have all required studies and permits approved through federal and state processes before right-of-way negotiations can begin. “After all of that is approved, then you can start negotiating,” Schwartz said.

“You can talk with the property owners ahead of time to let them know what’s going on. And actually, that would be very appropriate to do that, but you can not do any negotiating until that portion of the engineering is done.”