Village Seeks Project Funding

During a special board meeting Monday, trustees voted to apply for Surface Transportation Program (STP) grants that would help fund two local road projects.

The state funding would pay 80 percent of the cost of installing a traffic signal on Route 53 near Romeoville High School, 100 N. Independence Blvd.

Phase 1 engineering on the project, which includes building a new road to create a Route 53 entrance to the high school, has already been completed, according to Village Manager Steve Gulden. The grant would help fund phase 2 of the project, estimated to cost $1.6 million, Gulden said.

The new entrance would allow drivers to turn right from Route 53 to get to RHS.

"There used to be an entrance there," Mayor John Noak said. "It was removed because of safety, and there was no funding to put in a signal at the time."

According to Gulden, the entrance was closed in the 1970s after several traffic fatalities at the site. The signal would allow motorists to safely access the high school despite truck traffic entering and exiting the nearby Hanson Material Service, Noak said.

The village will also seek STP grant funding to pay for resurfacing along Murphy Drive.

Gulden said the village won't know until this spring whether it will receive the funding, but Noak was optimistic, pointing to Romeoville's track record with STP grants.

"We've been pretty successful in the past," he said.

Restaurant gets liquor license

Board members also granted a liquor license to a new restaurant set to open later this month at the old Half Time location. Brothers Nick and Milton Karounos plan to open Stone City Saloon at 721 N. Independence Blvd., the former site of the bar and grill.

But first, the restaurant is undergoing a complete facelift.

"They've done major renovations to the place," Noak said. "They've pretty much taken it down to the studs."

When completed, the business will include a 100-seat restaurant and possible banquet facility. The brothers also plan to open a hand-wash car wash on the north end of the property, which was previously home to a Ford dealership.