January hearing will seek public comment for Randall Road corridor plan
After more than four years of planning, the draft of a final plan to alleviate future congestion along Randall Road in McHenry County will be presented for public comment at a hearing sometime in January, officials said.
The plan calls for a two-leg continuous flow intersection at Randall and Algonquin roads, said Wally Dittrich, design manager for the McHenry County Division of Transportation. In a CFI, vehicles turn left off a dedicated turning lane with an additional left-turn traffic light to stagger the flow, Dittrich said.
The CFI will be along Randall Road only. A proposal for a four-leg CFI, with a second set along Algonquin Road, was scrapped after getting negative comments from business owners and others, he said.
“We think we’ve got a solution that meets the needs in respect to access and mobility Randall Road — it’s a huge corridor to shop on weekends, but it’s also a pipeline to Interstate 90,” he said.
The draft plan also includes improvements to roadways behind the businesses on both sides of Randall Road, which people are already using as shortcuts, he said.
Planning for the $80 to $100 million project started in 2007. The entire project spans 3.5 miles of Randall Road from Ackman Road in Crystal Lake south to County Line Road in Algonquin. A third lane will be added in both directions, plus dual turn lanes at all intersections, Dittrich said.
The intersection of Randall and Algonquin roads is “the crux of the problem,” Dittrich said. Engineers started with about 40 different design options, and narrowed them down to four alternatives presented during public hearings a couple of years ago, he said.
Lake in the Hills Village President Ed Plaza blasted the final draft plan at a village board meeting last week. He believes limiting access to businesses from Randall Road will have detrimental effects, and questioned the effectiveness of CFIs.
“If this is such a good idea and such well-formulated plan, why hasn’t it been embraced by other areas of Illinois where traffic is even worse? I don’t see this in Schaumburg. I don’t see this in Naperville,” he said.
Algonquin Village President John Schmitt said that some businesses owners might be worried, but pointed out the plan has to both please local communities and meet the requirements of federally-funded projects.
“There are probably still some concerns about it, but I’m sure they are going to be able to work that out,” he said.
The plan was presented last month to members of the McHenry County Board transportation committee. Board member Paula Yensen of Lake in the Hills said she hopes people will give their feedback at the January hearing. “It is imperative for the stakeholders to drive the project,” she said. The time and place of the meeting has yet to be set.
Dittrich said all suggestions will be taken into consideration. “We will take all that feedback we get and address comments, and come up with a final design,” he said.
Dittrich said he hopes the plan will be finalized by this summer for approval by the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.