Hoping to stop the progress of the Longmeadow Parkway, Vernon Hills resident Geoffrey Petzel said he filed a federal citizen lawsuit Friday over the project against the Kane County Department of Transportation and several other governmental bodies.

Petzel, a Carpentersville native, filed a pro se lawsuit that asks a judge to prevent construction of the bridge and road, vacate previous approvals issued by the Federal Highway Administration and force Kane County to prepare a new environmental impact statement for the project.

A former executive director of Friends of the Fox River, Petzel said he has been opposed to the project since 1997 but not involved with formal opposition groups.

“Basically, at this point, the county has chosen to proceed with the project even though voters don’t agree with it,” Petzel said. “I think this is the only course of action we have at this point.”

Dialogue concerning the planned 5.6-mile road has been renewed since 68.5 percent of voters in a March Dundee Township referendum said they opposed the project. Opponents have taken to municipal meetings to ask government leaders to stop the long-planned project, while Longmeadow supporters have said the wording of the referendum invalidated its results.

Petzel’s lawsuit takes issue with the environmental impact statement, which was approved in 2002. He said it does not include circumstantial changes that have occurred since, such as the Brunner property along Route 31 becoming a forest preserve, the Northern Long-Eared Bat becoming a threatened species, and changes in federal noise pollution standards.

The lawsuit also asserts that project managers must complete an analysis looking at the impact to the Brunner property and that a land transfer by the Dundee Township Park District was not completed properly. Kane County Department of Transportation Assistant Director Steve Coffinbarger said the agency was aware of the lawsuit but had not read it yet.

Construction on Longmeadow Parkway between Huntley/Boyer roads and Randall Road began recently, and an engineering contract for the portion from Randall Road to east of White Chapel Lane has been approved by the Kane County Board.

Petzel said he would not seek an injunction on construction until work began on the portion of the project east of Randall Road.