In certain circumstances, it may be advantageous to the motoring public to construct access improvements as part of a larger overall improvement or in conjunction with programmed county highway improvements. In order to minimize disruptions to the public, the County Engineer may require access related improvements to proceed in a coordinated and comprehensive manner.
(A) Programmed improvements.
(1) In certain circumstances, the WCDOT may have a highway improvement programmed for the section of county highway for which an owner is applying for access and the owner, in accordance with the provisions set forth in this chapter, is required to construct highway improvements to accommodate the proposed access. The County Engineer may recommend that both improvements proceed simultaneously and as a coordinated joint improvement.
(2) For joint improvement projects, the County Engineer shall have the option to require a formal joint agreement to be approved by the County Board. The joint agreement shall be prepared by the WCDOT and shall specifically provide for the responsibilities and obligations of the county and the owner as related to the joint improvement. Nothing in this section shall be construed to relieve the owner of any financial responsibilities related to an access improvement.
(3) If the owner or the County Engineer determines a joint agreement for a joint improvement is not appropriate, the County Engineer shall specify the conditions to be made a part of the access permit so that construction of the access-related improvement shall not interfere with the proposed county highway improvement project.
(B) Ongoing improvements.
(1) In certain circumstances, the WCDOT may have a highway improvement under construction for the section of county highway for which an owner, in accordance with the provisions set forth in this chapter, is required to construct highway improvements to accommodate a proposed access. The County Engineer may recommend that the highway improvements for the access location be incorporated into the ongoing county highway improvement project by means of a formal joint agreement or by a donation of money to be made a part of the access permit. If a formal joint agreement is recommended, the parties shall proceed as in division (A) of this section.
(2) If a donation of money is recommended by the County Engineer, the owner shall have the option to agree in writing to an amount determined by the WCDOT. This amount shall be sufficient to cover the cost of the required access improvement, including engineering costs and construction supervision, as part of the ongoing county highway improvement project. The donation shall be subject to acceptance by the Public Works and Transportation Committee, in accordance with ILCS Ch. 605, Act 5, § 5-101.7 et seq., as amended.
(3) If the Public Works and Transportation Committee, elects not to proceed with a donation, the County Engineer shall specify the conditions to be made a part of the access permit so that construction of the access improvement by the owner required for the access shall not interfere with the ongoing county highway improvement project.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to relieve the owner of any financial responsibilities as related to an access or access improvements.
(C) Donations. The Public Works and Transportation Committee, in accordance with ILCS Ch. 605, Act 5, § 5-101.7 et seq., as amended, shall have the authority to accept money or right-of-way or additional detention or compensatory floodplain storage donated from any source and to use the same for county highway purposes to mitigate the impacts to the county highway system from the proposed development.
(Ord. 20-231, passed 7-16-2020)