Gurnee is preparing for 'perfect storm' of roadwork

Traffic trouble is brewing in Gurnee and the warnings are coming early and often.

With a Tri-State Tollway ramp closed, Washington Street being rebuilt and a major project at Route 41 and Grand Avenue, the village will be under a roadwork siege come summer.

"It's called perfect storm," Mayor Kristina Kovarik said to about 80 business and civic leaders Thursday during a mayor's luncheon sponsored by the Gurnee Chamber of Commerce.

The bulk of the program was devoted to ongoing and pending work on the Tri-State.

The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority is in the midst of a multiyear improvement plan, but 2008 will have the biggest impact, according to Paul Kovacs, chief engineer.

The authority will spend about $1.3 billion to rebuild and widen the central and north Tri-State, which runs about 45 miles from O'Hare International Airport to the Wisconsin state line -- the longest continuous construction corridor on the tollway system.

"Believe me, we will consider any input you give us very seriously," Kovacs said.

Work this year will focus on widening southbound lanes. Bridges at several points, including at Washington Street and Grand Avenue, also will be rebuilt and widened.

That means the southbound tollway exit to eastbound Grand Avenue will close, probably in July, and traffic detoured to Milwaukee Avenue. The southbound Route 41 exit already is closed and traffic is being rerouted.

Also this summer, Lake County will begin rebuilding Washington Street from Milwaukee Avenue to Route 41. The road will be raised to help avoid flooding and a center median will be installed.

"If you drive it, it's like the Baja right now," Village Administrator James Hayner said.

Another wild card is the reconstruction of the Grand Avenue/Route 41 intersection, scheduled to begin in June. Ramps from Grand to Route 41 will be closed, but the signals on Grand will be deactivated, providing a free flow at that point.

"It's just going to be a mess for a period of time going back and forth," said Lou Molitor, president of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce.

The village is working with big attractions, such as the new Key Lime Cove water park, Gurnee Mills and Six Flags Great America. Residents and visitors can expect to find user-friendly materials regarding detours and construction schedules throughout town.

"At least it gives them some fair warning so they can change their driving habits or their routes," Kovarik said.

Tollway tidbits

Work is moving into overdrive on the $1.3 billion widening of the central and north Tri-State Tollway from O'Hare International Airport to the Wisconsin state line. Here are a few facts about the project.

• 8 million cubic yards of earth will be moved. For comparison, a typical village dump truck, with sideboards, carries 5.5 cubic yards.

• 1.3 million cubic yards of concrete will be used.

• More than 1 million tons of steel will be used.

• On any given day, more than 3,500 full and part-time workers will be on the job.

• An average of 430,010 vehicles each day use the Tri-State between Balmoral Avenue near O'Hare and the Wisconsin state line.

• By segment, an average of 181,200 vehicles use the tollway between Balmoral and the I-90/I-190 interchange; 161,580 between the Edens Spur and Deerfield Road; 134,160 from north of the Lake Forest Oasis; and, 64,150 through the Waukegan Toll Plaza.

• The work involves 31 separate construction contracts.

• 58 bridges, including tollway bridges over local roads or local road bridges over the tollway, will be reconstructed.

• The northern 30 miles of Tri-State opened to traffic in August 1958. The remaining 53 miles opened that December.

Source: Illinois State Toll Highway Authority