$2.95 million in land acquisition funding appropriated for Hainesville Road project
A plan to add turn lanes, paths and sidewalks and improve drainage along Hainesville Road in Round Lake Beach and Round Lake Park is moving to the land acquisition stage.
The Lake County Board on Tuesday appropriated $2.95 million to acquire needed right of way through agreement or condemnation and for other costs associated with the project from Washington Street to Rollins Road.
Properties needed along the 1.5-mile stretch have been identified, according to the Lake County Division of Transportation.
About 90 parcels, primarily on west side of Hainesville Road, will need to be acquired, Shane Schneider, director of transportation/county engineer, said during a recent update.
The project calls for the road to be converted from two to three lanes. That improvement is within the existing right of way, but property needs to be acquired to allow for a an 8-foot-wide bike path on the east side and a 5-foot sidewalk on the west side.
Two public meetings have been held and one-to-one meetings with property owners are next.
“We're just getting started with the land acquisition,” Schneider said. “We'll be starting the outreach in earnest,” after county board approval.
On the east side, Renwood Golf Course operated by the Round Lake Area Park District is allowing LCDOT to locate retention ponds on the property.
“They're willing to allow us to put the detention on their site and kind of treat it as a water feature and then we’re improving some of their local paths and in exchange they're dedicating the right of way to us at no charge,” Schneider said.
The project has moved from preliminary engineering studies to the final engineering design, which includes preparation of design drawings, construction contract documents and acquiring right of way.
“The big task here is figuring out all the stormwater drainage improvements that are needed,” Schneider said. The plan is to get that work done in winter as the golf season winds down.
“The design is in pretty good shape,” he added. “The critical path going forward will be land acquisition.” That is expected to be done over the next year.
The anticipated schedule is to have stormwater and drainage work completed next year and follow with the road work. Bids are expected on that part in fall of 2025 with construction in 2026.
“Of course, with 90 parcels of acquisition that would drive the schedule,” Schneider said.