Walshville Bypass Engineering Deal of $247,564 Recommended for $2.5 Million Project

Montgomery County Board Roads & Bridges Committee Meeting | July 8, 2026

Article Summary: The Montgomery County Board Roads & Bridges Committee on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, spent an hour on the estimated $2.5 million Walshville Bypass and voted to recommend a Local Public Agency Engineering Services Agreement with WHKS & Co. of Springfield, not to exceed $247,564, to finish Phase I preliminary engineering and carry out Phase II design engineering.

Walshville Bypass Key Points:

• WHKS Vice President Cory Chamberlain led an hour-long update; Engineer Lindsey Jones described a road alignment that forces traffic through sharp curves in the Village of Walshville, causing road deterioration and numerous crashes.
• The proposed new alignment, chosen by the county, would run south and east of the village with 11-foot lanes and 4-foot paved shoulders, and would require buying 4.7 acres of farmland and realigning Eilert Trail and Hamby Lane.
• Motion by Dr. Patty Whitworth, second by Rob Corso, to recommend the agreement at not to exceed $247,564, to be paid from the Federal Aid Matching Fund; all in favor, motion carried.
• Chamberlain estimated Phase III construction would begin in 2028; the agreement’s own schedule exhibit anticipates construction in fall 2027, dependent on right-of-way acquisition and crop harvest.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — The road through Walshville bends hard enough to break itself, and on Wednesday morning three engineers from Springfield spent an hour telling a county committee what it will cost to stop fixing it.

The Montgomery County Board Roads & Bridges Committee on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, meeting in the conference room at the County Highway Department on IL Route 185 outside Hillsboro, voted to recommend a Local Public Agency Engineering Services Agreement with WHKS & Co. of Springfield for the completion of Phase I preliminary engineering and Phase II design engineering, for an amount not to exceed $247,564, to be paid from the Federal Aid Matching Fund. Whitworth moved, Corso seconded, and the motion carried with all in favor.

Vice President Cory Chamberlain of WHKS began what the minutes describe as an hour-long update and discussion of the estimated $2.5 million Walshville Bypass project. Engineer Lindsey Jones of WHKS described the history of the current road alignment, which forces traffic through sharp curves in the Village of Walshville, resulting in road deterioration and numerous crashes.

The minutes do not say how many crashes, over what period, or whether anyone has been hurt in them. “Numerous” is the record’s word and the record supplies no number behind it.

Where the Road Would Go

The proposed new bypass alignment, chosen by the county, would run south and east of the village. It would carry 11-foot lanes and 4-foot paved shoulders. It would require the purchase of 4.7 acres of current farmland, as well as the realignment of Eilert Trail and Hamby Lane.

The engineering agreement in the committee’s handouts fills in the geography. It identifies the work as Section 20-00144-00-FP, on a road the form calls Locust Street/Walshville Trail, key route CR 475N/600E, running 5,000 feet. The location termini are given as the intersection of Locust and Pearl streets to a point 1,000 feet east of the Walshville Trail and Hamby Lane intersection near Walshville. The project description is Phase I continuation and Phase II engineering for roadway improvement or relocation — or both — of the major collector roadway that passes through Walshville.

Engineer Rick Allender of WHKS said Phase I preliminary engineering work is nearly complete, and that WHKS is requesting a contract for Phase II design engineering.

Two Timelines That Do Not Match

Chamberlain estimated Phase III construction would begin in 2028, according to the minutes.

The agreement’s own schedule exhibit says something different. It gives Phase I approval in November 2026; Phase II completion and letting in summer 2027, dependent on right-of-way acquisition; and construction in fall 2027, dependent on right-of-way acquisition and crop harvest.

Those are not the same year. The minutes are the record of what Chamberlain said in the room; the exhibit is part of a document already signed by his firm. This newspaper cannot reconcile them and does not try. Both are reported here as what they are.

The crop harvest condition is the plainest thing in either document: the schedule for a road across farm ground turns on when the ground is clear.

What the County Would Buy

The agreement’s scope exhibit itemizes the work in unusual detail. Phase I calls for an ESR addendum, development of a draft Project Development Report, addressing agency review comments, and a final PDR. Phase II calls for roadway plans — a cover sheet, general notes, typical sections, alignment and benchmarks, an estimated seven plan and profile sheets, removal plans, staging details, erosion control, drainage, intersection details, pavement marking and signage, an estimated 80 cross sections, quantity calculations assuming 48 pay items, and pavement design.

Administration is priced by the hour and the trip: an estimated one hour per invoice across six invoices, attendance at two County Board meetings and two on-site meetings, each with two staff for two hours plus travel.

Compensation is cost plus fixed fee. The fee formula on the form draws on the firm’s direct labor, direct costs and overhead, with a fixed fee that cannot exceed 15 percent of direct labor plus overhead. The complexity factor the formula depends on is described on the form as advertised but is not stated on it. No subconsultant is listed, and the subconsultant total is blank. The agreement summary gives one number: $247,564 to WHKS & Co., and $247,564 for all work.

The cost estimate exhibit that would show how that figure was built is referenced on the form as attached. It is not among the committee’s handouts.

How the Firm Was Selected

The agreement is not a new engagement. The form identifies it as a supplement, number 1, and describes the Phase I work as a continuation.

The form’s qualifications-based selection checklist — the section the state requires a local agency to complete — carries three marked boxes. As read from the page image, they record that qualifications-based selection according to state requirements was not used; that an existing relationship was used in lieu of the QBS process; and that Montgomery County is not a home rule community and therefore not exempt.

The document was signed for WHKS in late May by two vice presidents, Scott D. Sanford and Chamberlain. The county’s signature lines are blank.

What Happens Next

The committee cannot execute an agreement. Its vote is a recommendation, and the item goes to the full County Board. No engineering is authorized, no contract binds WHKS, and no money leaves any county fund until the full board acts.

Five of the committee’s seven members attended: Corso, Whitworth, Evan Young, Keith Hancock and Chairman Ethan Murzynski. Cody Gudgel and Board Chairman Doug Donaldson were absent. There were no public comments. The meeting adjourned at 9:51 a.m.