More traveler headaches as Route 60 work begins

Travelers trying to make their way to the Tri-State Tollway on Route 60 can expect delays as the first of many road projects in Lake County unfolds.

The most severe impact will begin Monday, as the Illinois Department of Transportation begins grinding the old pavement and resurfacing just over a mile of the heavily traveled Route 60 from Milwaukee Avenue (Route 21) to just west of the tollway through Vernon Hills and Mettawa.

The $1.5 million project is expected to last until Sept. 30 and will have a funnel effect on the four-lane road. About 46,500 vehicles each day travel Route 60 between Milwaukee Avenue and St. Mary's Road, and 35,300 vehicles a day travel east of St. Mary's Road to the tollway.

"They'll have closures ongoing," said Bill Baltutis, head of the TMA of Lake-Cook, a consortium of businesses involved in transportation issues.

"It'll be pretty much down to one lane in each direction, but it will be in different locations. People can expect backups. Obviously, there's a lot of people who use the tollway and there are a lot of businesses in Conway Park."

The work will begin on the east end and move west, according to Mathew Odigie, IDOT's resident engineer for the project.

Typical rush hours may be strained more than usual as well because of unrelated work announced Tuesday by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority.

Beginning at 5 a.m. Thursday, the entrance ramp from Half Day Road to the southbound tollway and the northbound exit ramp to Half Day will be closed to rebuild the interchange. Posted detours will route traffic to Milwaukee Avenue to enter and exit the Tri-State via Lake-Cook Road.

Drivers entering the northbound Tri-State from the westbound Edens Spur will be directed to exit at Route 41 to reach Half Day Road.

Baltutis said this construction season in Lake and northern Cook counties will be the biggest since his organization began tracking projects several years ago, with about 90 projects.