Six things you need to know about the Route 53 road construction project
Nearly 129,000 cars and trucks drive on Route 53 near Kirchoff Road on average each day, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.
That’s why a major redo of Route 53 this year is bound to cause angst for commuters in the Northwest suburbs. Here’s six things you need to know about the project.
What’s happening?
IDOT is reconstructing and resurfacing pavement between Lake-Cook Road and Route 62 plus repairing multiple bridges.
How long will this last?
The entire project is expected to wrap up in late fall 2026.
What’s the impact on traffic?
Drivers should expect delays from lane closures and traffic shifts. Motorists should allow for extra time getting to their destinations and consider alternate routes or traveling at off-peak hours.
How will this unfold?
IDOT is dividing up the work in segments. First up is a section from south of Kirchoff Road to south of Rand Road (Route 12), in Rolling Meadows, Palatine and Arlington Heights.
Workers will reconstruct and resurface the 6.4-mile stretch, update traffic signals, lighting and drainage.
Overnight lane closures will occur between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. but one lane in each direction will be kept open.
Work in this section includes rehabbing Route 53 bridges over Kirchoff, Industrial Avenue, Northwest Highway/Union Pacific Railroad, Palatine Road and Anderson Drive. Completion is expected in late 2026.
Crews also are fixing the Euclid Avenue bridge over Route 53 in Arlington Heights and Rolling Meadows. This involves replacing the bridge decks, expansion joints and structural steel, plus adding new lighting and resurfacing.
The busy road near the Cook County courthouse in Rolling Meadows will shrink from two lanes to one in both directions near the bridge.
Work should finish around summer 2026.
What’s next?
The other Route 53 construction zones are to the north from Rand to Lake-Cook roads, and to the south between Kirchoff and Algonquin roads. More details will be announced by IDOT soon.
What’s the cost?
The redo is almost $200 million: the Kirchoff to Rand Road segment is priced at $82.8 million; the Euclid bridge totals $10.8 million; and the north (Rand to Lake-Cook) and south (Kirchoff to Algonquin) sections come in at $106 million.
For more information, go to gettingaroundillinois.com.