Orchard Road widening starts in July

The long-awaited widening of Orchard Road from Jericho Road to Route 30 will begin next month with a much cheaper price tag than anticipated.

Kane County Board members approved the winning bid on the project Tuesday.

At $9.3 million, the construction project will cost only about half the projected $17.6 million price.

The 1.5-mile strip will be widened from two lanes to four lanes with a median barrier in between. That should mean a smoother commute for the 36,000 drivers who travel that route on a typical day. The project will also build a new bike path along the western side of Orchard Road.

Kane County will fund about $5.3 million of the project. A total of $3.7 million will come from the federal government. The state will chip in about $233,000. Commuters should expect daily lane closures during the construction. Traffic will be routed over temporary pavement will the new lanes are completed.

Board members from Montgomery, Aurora and Sugar Grove all praised the project as a long overdue improvement to the flow of traffic along Orchard Road. Kane County Board Member Phil Lewis praised the project for its timing.

“It’s very good decision-making on our part as a board to move forward with infrastructure projects and capture those kinds of savings,” Lewis said.

Lewis is from St. Charles where municipal leaders are currently trying to move forward with construction of the Red Gate Bridge to provide a new crossing over the Fox River. He pointed to the county’s savings on the Orchard Road project as a reason he favors the city moving ahead with the bridge despite opposition from some residents.

Lewis’s wife, Maureen, is an alderman in St. Charles.