Relief coming on Route 45
Another Lake County traffic bottleneck will be opened with a project to widen a section of Route 45 in Grayslake to four lanes, officials said Wednesday.
The $11 million project, announced by state Sen. Michael Bond, a Grayslake Democrat, targets 1.5 miles from Route 137 to Route 120.
Turn lanes also would be added at various intersections and a traffic signal would be installed at Casey Road, regarded locally as a problem spot. A raised barrier median 16 feet to 30 feet wide also is planned.
About 19,000 vehicles travel that stretch daily, and the road is "far above the capacity a two-lane roadway would be anticipated to carry," said Diane O'Keefe, deputy director of highways for the Illinois Department of Transportation.
The tentative schedule calls for work on northbound lanes to be done next summer and southbound lanes the next year, with completion in October 2010.
Funding will come from the agency's current multi-year program. Emphasis in recent years has been on bridge work and maintenance projects.
"We usually have a little bit of flexibility to move on different projects at different times," O'Keefe said.
IDOT Secretary Milton R. Sees last year asked individual area legislators for their priority projects, according to State Rep. Sandy Cole. The Grayslake Republican said this one topped her list.
"They've never had money for large new projects but for the last five years, they've (made available) money for smaller projects like this," she said.
Bond, vice chair of the Senate transportation committee, has tapped a substantial amount of road money recently. Last month, he and Sees announced $20 million in state funding to widen Route 83 from Petite Lake Road in Lake Villa, through Antioch to the Wisconsin state line.
A town-hall meeting on that project, which will have significant impact on downtown Antioch business, is set for Jan. 22. A public session for the Route 45 work is pending.
The former director of finance for Allstate Insurance Company, Bond is a self-described budget geek who has aggressively pursued road funding in his district.
"I'm not bashful about using my committee (position) to get things done," he said.
He cited projects such as the Route 120/Hunt Club Road intersection improvement and Route 41/Grand Avenue reconfiguration as examples.
As construction goes, the project announced Wednesday will be much easier to complete and could be a table-setter for Route 45 improvements north of Route 120 adjacent to the former Lake County fairgrounds, Bond said.
"We're working very diligently to bring that to fruition as well."