Roadwork pushes back Wal-Mart

Developers of the new Wal-Mart super store approved in Round Lake Beach hope to break ground after the first of the year, likely in March.

The latest delays in the project at Route 83 and Monaville Road involve road improvements. The store was originally expected to break ground in 2006.

Round Lake Beach Village Administrator David Kilbane said Illinois Department of Transportation wants Route 83 to be widened from two to five lanes to carry traffic from the 250,000-square-foot development.

"This is what happens sometimes with projects of this size," Kilbane said. "It's a rather big development, and this is the process developers sometimes have to go through."

Route 83 will be widened at Engle Road, two blocks north of Monaville, he said. He expects IDOT would want to widen the roadway about a half-mile to the Home Depot development near Millstone Drive, where the roadway is currently five lanes.

The Lake County Division of Transportation is also asking that Monaville Road be widened from two to five lanes from the Wisconsin Central Railroad Tracks to Route 83.

"But until IDOT comes back with details of what they want, they won't be able to really start breaking ground," Kilbane said. "It's just all part of the review and what needs to be done to move forward."

Developers have the permits in place from the village to break ground, he added.

Round Lake Beach officials approved the development in 2006, hoping construction would begin by now.

A previous delay involved the discovery of sensitive wetlands on the site and prompted changes to the plans of the building and wetland mitigation issues, Kilbane said.

Under the new schedule, Kilbane said, a March construction start would mean the store could open in November or December 2008.

"Had we hoped they would be under construction at this point? Sure," he said. "But, with any project of this size, there are problems that sometime spark up. It's a process that has to be done."