Route 41 to eliminate clogged left exits at Grand
One of the craziest areas to enter and exit a highway is about to undergo a major renovation.
Route 41's ramps at Grand Avenue in Gurnee will be reconfigured to eliminate entering and exiting in the left lane, with work possibly starting next month. After more than 65 years, the intersection will switch to the more traditional right-side ramps.
But Gurnee's leaders say the $32 million project represents more than improving a busy highway running through their town.
They also hope it'll entice redevelopment in the Grand Avenue business corridor east of Route 41.
"The way I see it," said village Trustee Greg Garner, "it is a must-do project."
Longtime Gurnee Village Administrator James Hayner said Route 41's left-side ramps date back to 1941 or so. The odd configuration was built when Gurnee had little traffic and wasn't remotely close to being an urban area.
Backups on the north- and southbound side left passing lanes are common at the exits. That setup is dangerous for motorists and likely has been a contributing factor to crashes in the area, said Trustee Hank Schwarz, a former Gurnee deputy police chief.
It's just as dicey to enter the highway, because vehicles have to travel from low-lying Grand Avenue to an uphill ramp next to a wall and merge in the left passing lane. Drivers have lamented how it's difficult to see the traffic when they merge.
"I'm surprised we have not had fatalities out there," Gurnee Mayor Kristina Kovarik said last week. "It is dangerous. It's just out-and-out dangerous."Hayner said the Route 41 reconfiguration is a long time coming."The state has been talking about this project for the past 28 years," he said.Drivers from Chicago and elsewhere often take the Edens Expressway and follow its flow into Route 41 when heading to Highland Park, Gurnee and other points north. Many motorists use Route 41 - a highway with stoplights at a few major intersections - and take it to I-94 on trips to Wisconsin as a way to avoid fees on the Tri-State Tollway.With work on Route 41 and the Tri-State occurring simultaneously in her town, Kovarik acknowledged some pain will be involved for those who want to visit Gurnee Mills or Six Flags Great America. She said she expects the state to post signs offering detours to Gurnee's popular attractions.Upon completion, the work at the Route 41-Grand Avenue intersection in Gurnee is expected to benefit drivers heading anywhere on the busy highway. Village officials said Route 41 backups typically start in Gurnee because of the peculiar ramp setup.Along with shifting the ramps from the left to the right, improved traffic signals will be installed at the bottom of Route 41 and Grand. Gurnee's community development director and village engineer, David Ziegler, said the upgraded signals also will provide safer passage for pedestrians in the area.Construction, led by the Illinois Department of Transportation, is to start in October or November with a hiatus planned when bad winter weather kicks in, agency spokesman Mike Claffey said. Gurnee officials said the targets for completion range from 18 to 24 months.Meanwhile, Kovarik said the village should get more than a better, safer intersection from the Route 41-Grand Avenue project."This has been choking economic development on the east side of town," Kovarik said of the intersection's current condition.Grand Avenue east of Route 41 long has been fodder in local elections because the area has been considered a financial laggard, with unsightly signs and few retail attractions being the problems typically cited by officials.Efforts have been made to bolster the corridor, which is the gateway heading from Waukegan west into Gurnee.Hayner said a significant hindrance to east Grand's redevelopment was the uncertainty over when - or if - the intersection improvements would occur at Route 41. He said businesses did not want to move there and suddenly contend with a lengthy construction project.With the uncertainty removed, he said, the east Grand Avenue corridor should be easier to pitch as a redevelopment area when construction is finished.Kovarik said she's grateful to state lawmakers for pushing through the project and wants Gurnee officials to let everyone to know what's happening at Route 41 and Grand."Mark this down in neon lights," she said. "Do cartwheels down Grand." 512300Traffic makes its way through a maze of viaducts at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Route 41 in Gurnee. Reconstruction of the intersection will start soon.Gilbert R. Boucher II | Staff Photographer <img src="/graphics/route41.jpg">