What do you foresee for Route 120? Public comment sought on 9-mile stretch from Volo to Grayslake
Study initiates formal federal process to evaluate and analyze needs and potential improvements
The Illinois Department of Transportation has initiated a formal process to consider potential improvements along a 9-mile stretch of Route 120 (Belvidere Road) from Volo east to Grayslake.
IDOT is hosting a meeting from 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday for the public to learn more about the process and comment about preliminary engineering for improvements between Route 60 and Almond Road.
The meeting will be held in the Blue Ribbon room at the Lake County Fairgrounds, 1060 E. Peterson Road in Grayslake.
According to IDOT, the proposed improvements would address safety concerns and accommodate existing and projected travel demands. Improvements could include additional lanes, median, auxiliary lanes at intersections and accommodations for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Comments can be submitted at the meeting or on the project website il120study.com, or mailed to Corey Smith, IDOT Bureau of Programming, 201 W. Center Court, Schaumburg, IL 60196. Comments received by May 24 will become part of the official record.
This isn't the first study of the Route 120 corridor in central Lake County. Grayslake led a study in 2020 and the Lake County Division of Transportation led one in 2009.
“Those studies were more planning level and did not initiate a National Environmental Policy Act Study along the corridor,” IDOT spokeswoman Maria Castaneda said.
“This study initiates (the) formal federal study process to evaluate and analyze current and future traffic safety and needs, as well as potential improvements and impacts,” she added.
Route 120 is a major east-west corridor, generally serving residents and businesses from McHenry County to Lake Michigan. In Lake County, the road serves Lakemoor, Volo, Round Lake, Round Lake Park, Hainesville, Wildwood/Gages Lake, Gurnee and Waukegan.
The stretch between Route 60 and Almond Road primarily is two lanes with some multi-lane intersections, resulting in severe rush period congestion and long backups at many locations.
In July 2022, Grayslake Village President Rhett Taylor wrote a letter to IDOT Secretary Omer Osman stating that work to ease congestion were needed immediately. Corridor communities identified $56.8 million in projects, including an option for an underpass at the CN tracks just west of Route 83 in Grayslake.
“Although IDOT has not communicated to me regarding their proposals for Route 120 in my district, I will insist that an underpass be part of their overall plan,” said Lake County Board member John Wasik. “This is a vexing bottleneck that needs to be fixed.”
Projected traffic increases also at one time raised the possibility of either a Route 120 bypass as a stand-alone project or as the east-west extension of the now defunct Route 53 extension.