Lake Forest business park gets access road
Some potential relief is in store for drivers who need to reach a Lake Forest business park during a reconstruction and widening of the Route 60 bridge over the Tri-State Tollway.
Motorists will be able to use a temporary back-door access road leading from the Tri-State Tollway's Lake Forest oasis north of Route 60 to Conway Park. The office campus' main entrance is off Route 60, just east of the planned bridge work and the tollway.
Lake Forest Mayor S. Michael Rummel said Thursday he expects construction on the special road to start next month and be finished by spring, when Route 60 should be down to two through lanes. The access road will shut upon completion of the Route 60 bridge project, expected in December 2008.
Rummel said the temporary road feeding directly into Conway Park from the oasis will be available just to northbound tollway commuters. The road will be only for entry into the business campus.
Conway Park businesses will pay about $2.6 million for the road's construction and a facility for cash and I-PASS toll collection, Rummel said. He said the businesses were concerned about employees fighting gridlock on the final leg to the park.
Illinois Toll Highway Authority board members approved an agreement for the temporary road at a meeting Thursday.
Tollway spokeswoman Joelle McGinnis and Rummel noted the agreement is unique.
"This is a first in tollway history," Rummel said. "We have set a precedent. I'm pretty proud of that."
McGinnis said Lake Forest presented the tollway with a detailed study that backed up why the temporary road is necessary.
Conway Park is projected to have 5,000 employees next year. Rummel said 800 to 1,200 workers likely will use the direct path from the northbound tollway.
Major employers at Conway Park include Hospira Inc., Brunswick Corp., Trustmark Cos., TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc. and Pactiv Corp. The Chicago Bears also are headquartered at Conway Park.
Work on the $18.5 million east-west Route 60 bridge over the tollway is expected to launch in the middle of next month. The bridge will be expanded to three through lanes and two left-turn lanes in each direction.
About 36,000 vehicles cross the bridge each day. Thousands of commuters travel just west of the interchange to work at W.W. Grainger Inc. and CDW Corp.