Grand Avenue road work in northwestern Lake County resumes for a third year
Drivers using Grand Avenue in the Lake Villa/Lindenhurst facing another construction season
Drivers using Route 132 (Grand Avenue) through Lake Villa and Lindenhurst in northwestern Lake County are facing a third consecutive season of construction delays and disruption.
While two projects on Grand Avenue in Lindenhurst wrapped up last fall after two years, work resumes this construction season on an $8.7 million project to rebuild a bridge over land that needs additional structural support to carry a road and make other improvements east of Cedar Lake Road in Lake Villa.
Traffic remains westbound only from Cedar Avenue, the entrance to Lake Villa's downtown, to Cedar Lake Road. Two-way traffic in that stretch could be restored by the end of April, said Jake Litz, assistant to the village administrator.
Besides rebuilding what is known as a land bridge, Grand Avenue will be widened and resurfaced to three-lanes with a continuous left turn lane from Cleveland Avenue to McKinley Avenue. New pedestrian walkways will be added as well.
The project is about 50% done, Litz said, and is expected to be complete this year.
Upgrading Grand Avenue through the area has been on the Illinois Department of Transportation's long-term planning schedule as one large project broken into phases starting in Lindenhurst and moving east to west.
In Lindenhurst, work started roughly at Grand Circle to Munn Road. The major component of the second part involved building a land bridge between Munn Road and Deep Lake Road, according to Village Administrator Clay Johnson.
“They actually raised the roadway four feet,” he said. “The roadway is affixed to piers over a wetland — they have to drill pretty deep.”
Grand has two travel lanes in each direction through Lindenhurst. The work included widening to add left turn lanes at various points and a landscaped median. Pedestrian amenities, landscaping and upgraded traffic signals, were added at the village's request.
Knowing Grand Avenue improvements were pending, Lindenhurst officials began planning for a tax increment financing district along the corridor from Deep Lake Road south and east to Thornwood Drive.
Through the economic incentive mechanism, increased property taxes generated by new development are placed into a special fund to pay for upgrades and other expenses within the district.
“The road preceded the TIF but it was viewed by the village as a piece of the redevelopment effort,” Johnson said.
The projects are among five funded through the Rebuild Illinois program scheduled to be completed in this year in west Lake County.