Village Officials: Weiland Road Recommendation is Least Expensive Option for Buffalo Grove

Buffalo Grove residents — and the village itself — are expected to incur minimal costs if what officials describe as the “preferred” option for improving Weiland Road is put into place. 

Village officials reviewed Monday the projected costs of the three options created by an engineering firm to rebuild the road. While the preferred option, selected by the engineering firm and various governmental agencies, would cost about $40.4 million to complete, the vast majority of the expense is expected to be covered by county and federal funds. Buffalo Grove would shoulder about $1.5 million of the total cost, most of which it paid during the first phase of the study.

The balance, about $500,000 would be covered by the village’s budget, officials said Monday. If the amount was instead added to the property tax levy, it would amount to a one-time $3.20 expense for the owner of a home with a $300,000 market value, Finance Director Scott Anderson said.

Learn more about the proposed improvement plan here. 

That option is the only one of the three that would be led by Lake County. If the village selects one of the other two options, Buffalo Grove would lead the project and fund it with bonds that would be passed on to homeowners in the village.

Under such a structure, a plan to rebuild Weiland Road without widening it would cost the village an estimated $26.5 million. Spread out among taxpayers, the average homeowner will pay an additional $121.30 per year over the course of 18 years, Anderson said.

The expense to those same taxpayers would nearly double to $234.40 if the village opted for the third option. That plan is virtually the same as the preferred option, but the improvements would be completed over a longer time period. 

“Regardless of the project option, Weiland Road must be rebuilt. The condition of the roadway is such that routine maintenance is not a solution,” Anderson wrote in a Jan. 2 report to Village Manager Dane Bragg.

Buffalo Grove trustees are scheduled to choose one of the options at their Jan. 20 board meeting. If they move forward with the preferred option, it will be forwarded to the Federal Highway Administration and Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) for approval. Upon approval, the second phase of the study, which entails engineering design would begin.