Hanson Road will close for more than a year while it undergoes facelift

This time next year, Hanson Road between Edgewood and Huntington drives in Algonquin will still be closed.

The Illinois Department of Transportation and Algonquin begin extensive construction Monday on the 1.25-mile stretch of road that will take until October 2010 to complete, Public Works Director Bob Mitchard said.

The $2.5 million project involves installing new curbs and gutters, sub bases, an enclosed storm sewer system, reworking the drainage, and putting in new bike paths along the west side of the project. Workers will also install new box culverts for Ratt Creek where it crosses Hanson Road.

Mitchard says the work is long overdue. There have been ongoing problems since it was built 20 years ago.

The road is full of potholes, its shoulders are deteriorating, and the drainage system doesn't work.

"We've had this in the planning stages for about six years," he said. "I think the motorists in this town will be thrilled because that road is in deplorable condition."

Algonquin is paying for 20 percent of the project, with the federal government picking up the rest, Mitchard said.

The work will occur in two phases, allowing either the intersection of Hanson Road and Harnish Drive or the intersection of Hanson Road and Huntington Driver North to stay open during construction, although not at the same time.

Employees and patrons of the Golf Club of Illinois, as well as parishioners and employees at Light of Christ Church, should have 100 percent access to each facility, Mitchard said. They are the lone businesses in the construction zone, he said.

Another phase of the road's resurfacing project between Edgewood and County Line roads was completed two years ago.

The project that starts Monday should be the last Hanson Road sees for years, Mitchard said.

Detours and monthly updates will be available at algonquin.org.