Illinois road project stung by judge’s endangered-bee ruling
CHICAGO — A highway in suburban Chicago has become the second Midwest road construction project delayed temporarily because of concerns about possible harm to a bumblebee recently listed as an endangered species.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman this week halted work on the nearly 6-mile-long (9.6 kilometres) Longmeadow Parkway in Kane County, Illinois, until at least April 25. The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin reported the judge’s order was in response to a filing by project opponents who said the roadway could affect the rusty patched bumblebee.
According to court documents, the bumblebee was found in the Brunner Family Forest Preserve along the planned route for the parkway, the (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald reported.
The holdup could boost the project’s costs by tens of thousands of dollars, said Carl Schoedel, the county’s transportation director.