Construction hot spots you'll want to detour this summer

This year's construction season is shaping up to be either the appetizer before a feast or a restrictive diet drivers could be on for some time.

Even with federal stimulus money adding to the slim pickings, state and local transportation leaders characterize this summer's road work priorities as "maintenance" only.

It had looked like the minimal construction planned for this year would be the preface to a major public works program starting in 2010 with the passage of a state capital bill.

Yet that $29 billion proposal is in limbo as Gov. Pat Quinn negotiates with feuding state legislative leaders who are divided on a state operating budget.

The 2009 road work menu is resurfacing, pothole filling and more resurfacing. Yes, there's some road widening projects and the mega extension of Stearns Road in Kane County - but nothing groundbreaking such as a Prairie Parkway or Route 53 extension.

Even the Illinois tollway, the big enchilada in road construction in the state, is on the last leg of its massive $6.3 billion congestion relief initiative.

Still, if you're stuck on the Tri-State north or crawling along Route 53 in DuPage County behind an asphalt truck, it's no small matter.

Our annual guide to major road work in the region offers a snapshot of trouble spots - and hopefully will help you maintain a Zen-like calm while driving this summer.

The Illinois Department of Transportation's most significant project is rehabbing a section of the Bishop Ford Freeway (I-94) from 95th to 159th streets. So if you're headed to work in the South suburbs or off to vacation in Michigan or Indiana, it might be better to plunk down cash for the Chicago Skyway or take the Tri-State Tollway.

Except - of course - that the south Tri-State and other tollways are also under construction.

The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority is in the final stage of its widening and reconstruction effort, so prepare for delays and impromptu lanes that seem to appear out of nowhere.

"The majority of the rebuilding and widening on I-90, I-294 and I-88 will be completed by the end of this year," tollway spokeswoman Jan Kemp said.

Another significant milestone for the agency is building a full interchange at I-88 and Eola Road in DuPage County.

"It will be our first all I-PASS, electronic tolling only interchange," Kemp said, adding work will be finished before 2010.

Close to home, some major arterials will be getting new layers of asphalt this summer and fall. Some of the more heavily traveled state roads being resurfaced include:

• Route 12/45 plus Rand and Higgins roads in suburban Cook County.

• Ogden Avenue and Route 53 in DuPage County.

• Randall and Kirk roads in Kane County.

• Routes 120, 83 and 60 in Lake County.

IDOT projects this year got a $936 million boost from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. The economic stimulus cash was for "shovel-ready" projects and the state lined up numerous projects that had been on the shelf for some years because of the lack of a capital bill. So far, $627 million is under contract or awaiting award.

DuPage is getting about $3.6 million in federal funds through its Mayors and Managers Association, county Division of Transportation Director John Kos said.

But DuPage won't be putting shovels in the ground thanks to stimulus cash in 2009 because it will take some time to prepare engineering and design plans.

"We're not like the state with millions of plans ready to go," Kos said.

Currently, "there are a number of congestion areas we would like to address, but we don't have the money right now," he added.

It's similar in McHenry County, where the county transportation division will use $260,000 in stimulus cash in 2010.

"The stimulus for us had zero impact on current programs," design manager Wally Dittrich said.

Instead the division is paying for projects such as widening Algonquin Road with help from revenues generated from a state sales tax increase.

Right now, "we're trying to get back up to where we want to be," Dittrich said.

Kane is one of the few counties with a transformative project under way and that's the Stearns Road extension west over the Fox River to Randall Road.

"It's the biggest project we've done. Everything pales in comparison," Kane County transportation assistant director Manny Gomez said.

<div style="float:right;margin:0 0 6px 0;"> <div class="moreHeader"> More Coverage </div> <div class="moreHolder"> <div style="margin:6px;text-wrap:auto;"> <div class="moreSubHead"> Graphics </div> <ul class="moreGallery"> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/graphics/roadwork/dhroadwork09.html" class="mediaItem">Summer roadwork maps</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="infoBox"> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=298888"><B>In Transit:</B> IDOT revises five-year road plan</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>