Engineering contract approved for Cary intersection upgrade

The Cary Village Board has approved an engineering agreement to begin work on the second phase of traffic signal and intersection improvements at West Main Street and High Road.

The resolution was for a maximum cost of just more than $73,000 to Christopher B. Burke Engineering in Rosemont.

The work is part of the village's downtown improvement plan, Public Works and Engineering Director Erik Morimoto said.

"The design work is part of a bigger overall West Main Street reconstruction and streetscape," Morimoto said. "The total project with all engineering, plus construction is estimated at $1.5 million. But we'll see what the bids will come out as."

Construction would start late this year at the earliest and carry over the next two budget years, Morimoto said.

The cost will be covered by a blend of funds of the village's allotment of the $45 billion Rebuild Illinois legislation passed in 2019 and its own capital fund, he said.

The village applied for a $1.36 million Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program grant that would have funded some of the work, but the application was denied.

"It's a competitive grant. It's one of those with a limited pool of money that the state has to issue," Morimoto said. "I was told we did not quite make the cut this time, but we're always looking for other grant opportunities."

The grant description stated that Cary wanted to improvements to an east-west bikeway corridor to create alternative transportation options for commuters by connecting the Metra station to the village's largest employers.

Morimoto said the intersection work would not overly impact local businesses.

"We will allow traffic to be maintained," Morimoto said. "Supporting our local businesses is always a priority, especially during construction. Keeping activity and traffic downtown is a priority as well."