Road work costly, inconvenient, necessary

This has been a busy - and welcome - summer for road construction in Lake County. We see the signs all around us, the orange warning signs to travel carefully and the signs that we are making progress that is so vital to our economy.

River Road closed last month so columns could be installed to stabilize the ground under the new roundabout. In Gurnee, bridge reconstruction work on Illinois 132 started in July. Washington Street reopened in July after being closed from Cedar Lake Road to Hainesville Road so the street could be rebuilt and widened.

While these closures and construction zones can create frustrations in the short term, the Lake County Transportation Alliance welcomes them. We need more of them, many more of them here and around the state.

We are at a critical point with our roads, bridges and transit systems in Illinois. A study from the Transportation for Illinois Coalition found that about 85 percent of our roads are deemed in acceptable shape by state regulators right now.

But without a serious influx of funding soon, that will drop to about 65 percent acceptable shape in just a few years.

TFIC has put a good proposal on the table to start to deal with these problems. No one likes to think about paying more for services. But the reality is we have to make the investment now. If we don't, it will cost us much, much more to replace roads that can be resurfaced now.

We're investing not only in our roads and bridges, but in the people who build and maintain them, their families and all the good economic activity that comes from a healthy infrastructure network.

Marty Buehler, Executive Director

Lake County Transportation Alliance Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire