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Waukegan committee backs local match for federal BUILD grant to study Sheridan Road corridor
Summary
The Waukegan Finance and Purchasing Committee approved a resolution supporting a local match for a U.S. DOT BUILD grant to study the Illinois 137/Sheridan Road corridor and related rail and intermodal changes; the study would evaluate 'road diet' and other options, with no decision yet to remove the roadway.
The Finance and Purchasing Committee of the City of Waukegan on Feb. 18 approved a resolution authorizing the city’s potential local share for a U.S. Department of Transportation BUILD (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development) grant to study the Illinois 137/Sheridan Road corridor, rail realignment and an intermodal station.
The study application seeks federal funding for preliminary engineering; the cities of Waukegan and North Chicago applied for 100% federal funding but agreed that, if a local match is required, they will split a 20% match and each contribute $1,350,000. The committee approved the resolution by unanimous roll call.
The grant application aims to fund analysis and engineering to “right-size” the AMSEDS/Sheridan Road corridor and make it a multimodal road that is safe and accessible to all, city staff said. City staff and aldermen said the study would analyze options discussed during recent master-plan public meetings, including narrowing parts of the roadway or removing segments, and would bring engineers to the table to determine what is feasible.
Alderman Guzman asked whether the master plan had included removing the roadway; Alderman Guzman said, “I thought the whole master plan and the talks for the MSAT was to get rid of it since it's no longer gonna be a North Shore Lakeshore Drive kinda, aspect of a road.” Noel, a city staff member, replied that the state had made a recommendation against restoring an expressway along the lakeshore and that the current proposal is for a road diet and related studies. Noel said the meeting with federal program representatives in February 2022 supported that approach and that the federal program name and available funding changed over time from RAISE to BUILD.
City staff emphasized that the resolution does not itself alter the roadway; it simply authorizes the city to commit a potential share of match funding should the grant require it. The study, if funded, would evaluate traffic volumes, engineering constraints and options before any policy or construction decisions are made.
The committee voted by roll call in favor of the resolution; all four members present voted aye. Next steps identified by staff include awaiting U.S. DOT notice and, if a match is required, allocating the local share split with North Chicago.
