Route 120 to close west of Route 83

An already challenging rush hour route through central Lake County will be closed for five days beginning early Saturday.

Route 120 just west of Route 83 in Grayslake will be shut down for railroad crossing work. While potentially disruptive, officials are taking the project in stride and hope motorists will look at it as another glitch to endure during construction season.

A sign notifying motorists of the closing has been in place and detour signs will be installed. Grayslake and Lake County have notifications on their Web sites.

Lake County has given the Illinois Department of Transportation permission to use two roads as part of the detour route, which could add several miles to a trip.

The detour will be Route 83 south to Peterson Road, west to Alleghany Road and north to Route 120. Travelers headed east will use the reverse route.

Those familiar with the area also could sidestep the closure by using Lake Street to Center Street through downtown Grayslake. Village officials don't envision speeding as being an issue but will be monitoring the situation for congestion or other concerns.

"If it becomes a problem, we're certainly prepared to patrol for it," said Derek Soderholm, assistant to the village manager.

The Canadian National Railway Co. will be replacing pavement to make the crossing smoother. Work is scheduled for five days. Similar closures have occurred recently at Route 120 west of Route 134 in Hainesville and on Route 134 in Round Lake.

No service disruptions are expected on Metra's North Central commuter service, which uses the rail line.

The intersection is a long-standing bottleneck at rush hours. According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, 17,200 vehicles per day use Route 120 west of Route 83 and 19,700 vehicles per day east of the intersection.