The DeKalb County Board approved to reserve the right-of-way for future expansion of Malta Road on Wednesday night.

The approval makes way for expansion of Malta Road from Route 38 south to Malta Road.

There are no plans as of yet to expand that road, District 9 Representative Jim MacMurdo said.

County Engineer Bill Lorence said the length of the road will be about a mile.

MacMurdo said the proposal went up for approval so that developers know not to build on that side of the road.

The expansion would make it easier for people from south Malta to get to Kishwaukee College faster. The time would be cut by about 10 minutes, MacMurdo said.

The board also gave approval to make the extension of Malta Road a freeway.

By doing that, it would put limited access on the road and not have as many cuts, MacMurdo said. It does not necessarily mean that people would be able to drive faster on it.

“It’s basically a straight shot,” he said.

District 3 Representative Steve Slack presented a program to the board called Veterans Transportation Assistance.

The program would help veterans to get transportation assistance whenever they need to travel to a far hospital, such as in Chicago, Rockford or Madison, Wis.

“Because hospitals are so understaffed, if they miss their appointment, it could take months before they could get another one,” Slack said.

The $35,000 for the program would come from the governor’s tax amnesty program.

Slack said there is a similar program called Medvac, but it is only to help veterans get to local hospitals.

He did not know of any other county that had a similar program.

The program first would need to be approved by the executive committee before it can be brought to the full board.