Roadwork season for Barrington, Hoffman Estates in full swing

Construction work on Ela Road in Barrington is about two weeks ahead of schedule.

The project, originally planned for completion in mid-October, could be finished by late September, Cook County Highway Department Supervising Engineer Eric Petraitis said. The mild summer temperatures have helped workers who've been out on Ela since late May.

"It's perfect for them. It's not too hot," he said. "We did have a little bit of rain in the beginning. It was a little wet."

Crews are working on a 5.5-mile stretch of Ela from Central Road in Hoffman Estates through Lake-Cook Road in Barrington. The potholes caused by the last two winters had no effect on the project, as the highway department selects repaving projects five years before work begins. It's been about 15 years since Ela Road has been repaved.

The paving alone is already about 75 percent complete, but the landscaping will take additional time, Petraitis said. The early completion date should be good news to motorists who've had to drive through one-lane traffic while crews work.

No summer would be complete without roadwork, and IDOT has plenty of its own projects, including the repaving of a nearly 1-mile stretch of Route 59 from Lake-Cook Road to Barrington Road. That $532,000 project could be done by the end of the month, as the 30-day contract was executed on June 26, IDOT spokeswoman Paris Erwin said.

IDOT also plans repaving on Golf Road from Wingsong Drive in Schaumburg west to Shady Oaks Road in Elgin, as well as Higgins Road from Almond Lane to Meacham Road in the Schaumburg-Hoffman Estates area. No specific schedules were immediately available.