Pavement projects causing gridlock in southern Lake County

Motorists navigating southern Lake County can expect to be even more frustrated for at least a couple weeks.

On Thursday, the Illinois Department of Transportation began pavement repair projects near Long Grove at the intersections of Routes 22 and 83, as well as Routes 53 and 83.

The patchwork has reduced the four-lane roadways to one lane in each direction, said Jacek Tyszkiewicz, IDOT chief construction engineer. He estimates the work will last up to three weeks.

"It's maintenance work we're trying to get done before winter sets in," he said. "It will disrupt traffic and rain or bad weather will only tack on time."

Buffalo Grove police received more than 100 calls from affected drivers Thursday night and Friday morning, said Sgt. Scott Kristiansen, supervisor of the police traffic unit. He instructed residents to direct their concerns to IDOT and not local officials.

Kristiansen said Route 83 (McHenry Road) had been serving as an alternate route for other construction along Buffalo Grove and Arlington Heights roads.

"McHenry Road was a safety valve and it got shut off," Kristiansen said. "I was in it and it's awful."

Compounding the problem were people who were "blocking the box" with their vehicles. That refers to drivers who proceed into an intersection but aren't able to clear it by the time the traffic light turns red, preventing cross street traffic from moving. The result is gridlock.

"All it takes is for people to block the box a couple light cycles and you get backups a mile long," Kristiansen said. "You're impacting thousands of cars by doing that."