Rail bridge, other changes in mind for Route 83

Plans to ease congestion at Rollins Road and Route 83 in Round Lake Beach could include lowering the roadway surface and building a rail bridge overhead to carry trains, officials said.

Lake County Division of Transportation officials have been working on what they call the Rollins Gateway project for more than a year to develop solutions for the highly congested intersection directly east of Canadian National train tracks.

The rail bridge plan has emerged as the best of four alternatives studied to alleviate the congestion at the intersection, which includes large business complexes on three of the four corners, officials said.

"We used the village of Round Lake Beach for input. That retail is pretty important to the community," said Chuck Gleason, Lake County's project manager. "It happened to give the businesses there a lot more advantages with alternative two."

The planned configuration would include demolition of the Payless Shoe Store and the PNC bank located on either side of Rollins Road, east of Route 83. However, it also would provide better visibility for the stores on the east side of the street after construction, Gleason said.

That was a concern expressed by area business owners, he added.

The project also calls for widening Hainesville Road and moving it almost 300 feet to the west. The road would still lead into the commercial plaza that includes the vacated buildings left by Dominicks grocery story and Walmart, which moved just north on Route 83 last fall.

Gleason said officials are working with CN to develop their plans for the bridge, and hope CN can contribute financially to the project.

The project is one of five vying for the county's $50 million set-aside for "challenge projects."

Officials have conducted several business and environmental studies to assess the implications the Rollins Road/Route 83 project would create. A final public meeting is in the works for sometime in September.

A project report is being prepared to submit to the Illinois Department of Transportation for final approval.

It could be ready by the end of the year, Gleason said.

Officials are hoping to design the plan for the project, pending IDOT approval, over the next two years.

"We feel as though by 2013 we can go out to bid for the project," Gleason said