Relief on its way for McHenry Co. drivers

An expansion project that McHenry County leaders say has been needed since James R. Rakow Road was constructed almost two decades ago is set to begin Monday when the county breaks ground on the project.

The groundbreaking will take place at 10 a.m. Monday, Fed. 7 at the northeast corner of Rakow and Pyott roads in Crystal Lake.

The Rakow Road widening project will help reduce congestion along one of the busiest thoroughfares in the southern part of the county between Route 31 in Algonquin and Ackman Road in Crystal Lake. The 3-mile-long project will widen Rakow Road from Ackman Road east to Pyott Road from two lanes to six lanes and from Pyott Road to Route 31 from two lanes to four lanes. The total cost of widening the road, which is named after a former McHenry County superintendent of roads and engineer who championed its construction, is estimated at $26.5 million. Patrick Engineering, headquartered in Lisle, is heading up the project.

McHenry County Chairman Ken Koehler said the county and residents have waited since 1993 for congestion relief. It is estimated that more than 40,000 vehicles travel the road daily with that figure expected to reach 60,000 in 2030.

“The project is necessary because of the amount of traffic that uses that road,” Koehler said. “The capacity has called for four lanes since the road was built as a two-lane road. Traffic backs up, especially coming into intersections. Sometimes traffic is backed up the entire length of the gravel pit in Crystal Lake. That’s a long way.”

Joe Korpalski, the county director of transportation and engineer, said funding constraints initially stymied the construction of a four-lane road. Land owners reluctant to sell property to the county then prevented early attempts for expansion, Korpalski said. The cost of the project has since skyrocketed, he said.

“The cost did increase substantially,” Korpalski said. “Hyperinflation and the prices have all gone up substantially for construction materials and labor associated with the project.”

But land acquisitions and funding sources have now been attained.

Congressman Don Manzullo, a Republican from Egan, has secured more than $7 million in federal funding. The remainder of the costs will come from county funding, Koehler said.