“Legacy” road projects move ahead

Moving traffic while protecting the environment has created a sensitive situation for the Lake County Board.

The board on Tuesday decided to proceed with the next step for a project that would noticeably change the landscape at Fairfield Road and Route 176 near Wauconda, which is surrounded by the signature Lakewood Forest Preserve.

“What we really have here are competing interests to provide public benefit,” board member Melinda Bush of Grayslake said during discussion of the intersection improvement project.

County officials overwhelmingly approved a contract of more than $1.7 million for what is known as Phase II engineering, which calls for right-of-way acquisition and design plans as the final step before construction.

Similar contracts totaling nearly $10.6 million were awarded for four other high-profile projects, but the Fairfield junction is a special case because the Lake County Forest Preserve District owns all four corners.

Area residents have closely followed the process, creating a website that has generated more than 250 comments and submitting 1,300 signatures in opposition.

Opponents say commuter waits would not increase substantially if nothing is done, but work on the intersection would destroy the rural setting.

“If we go through with this, we’ll be altering a forest preserve forever,” said Steve Carlson, of Gurnee, one of two county board members who opposed the contract in a 21-2 vote. ”I don’t feel we should ignore this. I think the money could be better spent elsewhere.”

But a majority of board members, who also double as forest district commissioners, said moving traffic was a priority in an area where backups reach a mile at times.

Widening the intersection in place or building a Fairfield overpass is to be determined.

“There are two proposals. This (engineering contract) does not address those proposals,” said Ann Maine, the forest board president. “In the end, it’s the forest preserve that’s going to decide.”

Marty Buehler, the county’s transportation chief, said either plan would require the same advance work and there would not be a duplication of effort before that decision, which is expected in May.

He also said the congestion problem could not be solved by timing lights in the area, as suggested by opponents.

“It’s (timing lights) about efficiency of your system, but it’s not about installing capacity at congested locations,” he said. “That takes pavement.”

The situation is delicate, supporters agreed.

“We’re not going to be destroying the forest preserve,” added board member Steve Mountsier of Lake Barrington.

In a separate but related vote, the board authorized issuance of up to $90 million in bonds to pay for construction of three projects anticipated in 2013: Rollins Road/Route 83; Fairfield/Route 176; and, Washington Street from Haryan Way to west of Lake Street.

Two of the three involve underpasses beneath increasingly busy Canadian National rail crossings in what are considered high-profile projects to provide permanent improvement at congested intersections.

The work has been made possible by a regional sales tax increase authorized in 2008 and targeted in Lake County specifically for road work.