Algonquin roadway project resumes Monday

To all the residents and businesses along Algonquin Road west of Lakewood Road: Consider yourself warned.

Starting Monday, workers from the McHenry County division of transportation will embark on the final phase of widening Algonquin Road from two lanes to four, this time between Lakewood Road and Route 47, an $11.5 million undertaking.

The first three or four days will be the worst for drivers because workers will limit that portion of Algonquin Road to one lane while they install temporary pavement and do storm sewer work on the other side, said Terry Heffron, the project's liaison.

Flaggers will be there to tell you when you can proceed.

"We try and minimize the headaches," Heffron said.

After that's done, workers will create two lanes out of the northern portion while closing the other side to traffic for expansion purposes.

They'll do the same thing to the south side when it's time to expand the northern portion, he said.

Officials recommend that you reserve extra time for your commute while all of this is going on.

The department of transportation notified area businesses about the work Tuesday and is expected to alert residents later this week, Heffron said.

This project comes on the heels of a similar Algonquin Road expansion project between Randall and Lakewood roads, which cost $20 million and will be completed in May, Heffron said.

Algonquin Road between Lakewood and Route 47 is expected to completely reopen by Thanksgiving.

Yet the entire project won't be done until workers add a final layer of asphalt in spring 2009, Heffron said.

And the good news for drivers is there are no county road construction projects scheduled for Algonquin in the near future, Heffron said.

For updates on this project, visit www.algonquinroad.info.