Public to get improved access to Lakewood Forest Preserve
Visitors to the Lakewood Forest Preserve near Wauconda will face a tangle of work along Route 176 for the next week or so in advance of a wide-ranging two-year project to improve public access and safety.
Workers will install temporary pavement and take other measures as part of a $5.2 million project that features a new entrance to the preserve and its facilities, including the Lake County Discovery Museum, and two pedestrian tunnels beneath Route 176.
“A lot of stuff will be happening all at once,” said Jeff Sloot, project manager for the Lake County Forest Preserve District. “It’s confusing for everyone out there. You’ve got multiple crews doing multiple things.”
In the interim, visitors will be shuttled between what is now a single-lane entry and exit separated by several hundred feet off Route 176 west of Fairfield Road as contractors install a storm sewer.
Flaggers and electronic signs will be put into action to help visitors navigate, he added. Occasional traffic interruptions are expected but the museum, shelters, trails and other amenities will remain open.
“A lot of what they’re doing now is preparation for the actual construction,” Sloot said. “This week and into next week will probably be the more challenging period for the whole project.”
At the same time, the existing entry will be widened with a temporary surface and will become the single access point for the duration of the work. The new two-lane entrance, which is intended to eliminate confusion, will be built near the existing exit.
“It’s not unusual to see people entering the exit and vice versa,” Sloot said. “When this is all said and done, there will be a left-turn lane (from Route 176) going in there, too.”
Motorists also will see temporary pavement installed on Route 176 in advance of the construction of two, 18-foot wide tunnels to eliminate the need for trail users to cross traffic. Sections of the concrete tunnels will be installed as traffic is shifted onto the temporary pavement.
One tunnel will be installed near the new Lakewood entry and become part of the Millennium Trail. The other, to be located east of Fairfield Road, will become part of the Fort Hill trail system.
In related work, the entrance to the dog exercise area at the northeast corner will be rebuilt and a turn lane added.
The forest district has had plans for a new Lakewood entrance but hadn’t gotten to it and decided to include the work in the broader Lake County Division of Transportation project to widen the Route 176/Fairfield Road intersection.
That plan includes the tunnels but the intersection widening, detention basins and related work is scheduled to begin next year and will be bid separately. The forest district will pay for the new Lakewood entrance.
“This is known as the advance contract, which essentially gets all the forest preserve elements completed and out of the way,” Sloot said.
Anyone with questions can call Mark Molnar, resident engineer for the consultant managing the project, at (224) 399-9162.