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Road plan is back before board

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JANESVILLE — A controversial piece of road construction will make another appearance at the Rock County Board tonight.

At its last meeting, the board tabled a resolution to recommend building a connector route between County G and Interstate 90/39.

The decision to table the resolution until Feb. 28 would have effectively killed the project because the February date would not have allowed time for all the needed engineering and environmental studies, Rock County Highway Commissioner Ben Coopman said.

But it looks like the tabled resolution can legally return to the board for another vote.

"We looked at the motion to postpone to a date certain, and under Roberts Rules of Order that motion can be reconsidered," Corporation Counsel Jeff Kuglitsch said.

To be reconsidered, a person who voted to table the resolution would have to make a motion to return it.

"As I understand it, it's highly likely that there will be a motion and a second to reconsider it," Coopman said.

If that motion is approved, the board could again debate the merits of extending Inman Parkway to County S and to the Interstate.

At stake is state funding for a project that includes not only the Inman Parkway extension but also improvements to County G and the intersection of G and Townline Road. The cost of the improvements is expected to be $21.8 million, with $14.7 million coming from the state. The city of Beloit would contribute $717,415 and the county $6.4 million.

The state would not be willing to contribute to a project that doesn't include an extension to the Interstate—and an extension that would be built before work on the widening of I-90/39 begins in 2015.