Burr Ridge Thanked For Truck Stop Opposition

BURR RIDGE, IL – A resident just outside Burr Ridge's boundary "wholeheartedly" thanked the village this week for its opposition to a planned truck stop on Route 83.

At Monday's Village Board meeting, trustees adopted a resolution opposing the proposed QuikTrip convenience store and truck stop at 9200 S. Route 83, or Kingery Highway.

Lynda Esposito, who lives on Carrington Circle, said she wanted a copy of the just-passed resolution to "get all the ammunition that I possibly can" to oppose the truck stop.

She said she expected the DuPage County zoning panel to handle the truck stop issue at its Aug. 10 meeting.

Mayor Gary Grasso said he has discussed the village's opposition to the truck stop with the three County Board members from District 3, which includes Burr Ridge.

Village officials said that with Burr Ridge's formal opposition, the truck stop would need the support of three-fourths of County Board members, rather than the usual two-thirds for such zoning matters.

Grasso said he would call the nearby towns of Darien, Willowbrook and Lemont to encourage them to adopt similar resolutions.

He advised Esposito, whose property is near the proposed truck stop, to collect signatures for a petition, saying that could persuade county officials to vote no.

She said she and her neighbors have already submitted a petition.

Last year, the village approved a Thorntons gas station directly across the road, in part, because it did not include a car wash and truck fueling pumps, which the proposed truck stop is said to include, the mayor said in a letter to the county.

The mayor also expressed concern about increased truck traffic at the nearby intersection of Route 83 and 91st Street.

"There are no deceleration or turn lanes proposed, which will (worsen) an intersection which is already dangerous, experiencing multiple fatal car accidents a year," Grasso said. "Eastbound traffic to the intersection is further exacerbated by the presence of a hill, which creates short sight lines leading to the traffic signal."