Oregon residents fighting ComEd plan: Proposal to install view-blocking utility poles by river on hold
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| Sue Harrod stands next to a sign protesting ComEd’s plan to install utility poles in front of her home on state Route 2 north of Oregon. The poles would carry the electric service that is now underground. Over her shoulder is the Black Hawk statue at Lowden State Park and the Rock River, a view that the poles would block. (Jason Hickman/Shaw News Service) |
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OREGON – A plan to install utility poles along a stretch of state Route 2 north of Oregon has been put on hold for further study.
State Rep. Jerry Mitchell, R-Sterling, met with officials from ComEd and the Illinois Department of Transportation last week after Oregon residents appealed to him to halt the installation of the poles, which they said would block their view of Black Hawk and the Rock River.
“All the parties agreed that the 2,000-foot section that is now underground is on hold until we can come up with a reasonable solution,” said Robbin Blackert, a legislative assistant for Mitchell.
Sue Harrod, 47, who lives on Cartwright Lane just north of Oregon, and some of her neighbors asked Mitchell to intervene.
IDOT plans to widen Route 2 and add turn lanes from Fair Street in Oregon to Byron, starting in the spring. Widening the road requires that the electric service be moved back.
ComEd decided to reinstall the wires above ground in part to save $330,000, IDOT project support engineer Brian Mayer said.
The Illinois Public Utilities Act requires ComEd to provide service at the least cost, which in this case is above ground, company spokesman Peter Pedraza said.
“It all comes down to the money,” Blackert said. “Somebody has to pay the $330,000.”
Several neighbors gathered at Harrod’s house Monday to discuss the problem.
Harrod and her husband, Lance, bought the house about 8 years ago, mainly for the view of the river and the statue.
“We wanted to raise our family here. It’s beautiful,” she earlier in the month. “Right now, I can look out my window and we have a beautiful view. That’s why we moved here.”
Neighbor Jenny Craig feels the same.
“We want to keep the poles out for the beauty of the community and the safety of it,” said Craig, who lives across Cartwright Lane from the Harrods.
Both of their properties have frontage on Route 2.
“They cut down our trees and gave us utility poles,” lamented Myrle Fuller, also a neighbor.
Several large trees were lost to the road-widening project, and a few people agreed to give up part of their front lawns – under false pretenses, some now say.
When neighbors met with IDOT officials months ago and signed agreements to give up land for the road right-of-way, “we were told there would not be any overhead lines,” Craig said. “We would not have signed any papers if we had known.”
Drawings supplied by IDOT do not show utility poles, Harrod said.
They became aware in early September that poles might be part of the plan when construction crews placed colored flags in the new right-of-way.
“My husband knew what the colors of the flags meant and we became concerned,” Craig said.
Craig’s husband, Emery, and Harrod have circulated a petition opposing the poles and so far have 83 signatures, from mostly residents who live nearby.
Harry Spell, whose property also fronts Route 2, suggested forming a committee to fight the poles.
