Fremont Center Road/Route 60 work planned for summer
The oblique-angled intersection of Fremont Center Road and Route 60 in Fremont Township will be squared and a traffic signal installed as part of a $2.13 million project planned this summer.
Fremont Center will be realigned to meet Route 60 at about a 90-degree angle and widened for right- and left-turn lanes. Route 60 will be widened to provide an eastbound right-turn lane and westbound left-turn lane.
Also, an area on the west side of Fremont Center Road will be graded for a future bike path to connect with Behm Homestead Park and the Peterson Road bike path.
The new intersection will make it easier to navigate. About 15,700 vehicles pass on Route 60, and making left or right turns from Fremont Center Road, which is governed by a stop sign, can be difficult.
"It is an unsafe intersection, and many residents use our driveway access to avoid it," Fremont Township Supervisor Diana O'Kelly said. The township office is just southeast on Route 60.
Fremont Center Road ends at a point where Route 60 curves and intersects at an angle.
"The realignment of the intersection, as well as the addition of turn lanes and a traffic signal, will greatly increase the overall safety and ease of transportation for our school buses and families alike," said Nick Brilowski, spokesman for Fremont Elementary District 79.
District 79 has about 2,240 students. Its four-school campus and administrative office is on Fremont Center Road south of the intersection.
The Lake County Board is expected to vote May 11 on two contracts involving the project, which has been in the works for several years.
The first is for construction engineering services with V3 Companies of Woodridge at a maximum of $304,822. The second is a construction contract for $2.13 million to Berger Excavating Contractors of Wauconda. The Illinois Department of Transportation will reimburse the county 50% of the construction cost up to $1.55 million.
The project will require the intersection to be closed for 50 days to build the improvements. Damages will be assessed if it goes beyond that, according to the contract.
The project limits will be about 500 feet in all directions from the intersection. Fremont Center Road will be closed and a detour put in place for the summer.
As part of the project, a long-empty, 1920s-era brick schoolhouse on the southeast corner will be removed.
Construction could start as soon as June depending on utility relocation and the IDOT permit, said Alex Carr, spokesman for the Lake County Divisions of Transportation.
If work starts in June, the project is expected to be completed in October, he added.