W. Dundee proposes intersection changes

Proposed changes to the intersection of routes 31 and 72 in West Dundee - designed to improve the safety of the intersection - may instead harm local businesses and force more motorists onto side streets, local residents and business owners say.

But village officials and project consultants say the restrictions and new traffic patterns in the area are needed to accommodate increased traffic capacities and to enforce drivers' common sense.

"This will not solve all of the problems," said George Schober, vice president of V3 Companies, during an informational session Monday. "It's going to solve some problems and improve the quality of life for residents in the area."

A joint agreement between the village and the Illinois Department of Transportation, the project calls for the widening of both state routes to provide additional turn lanes and barrier medians to prevent certain traffic movements.

Under the $150 million plan, dual left-turn lanes would be installed on northbound and southbound Route 31 and a dedicated right-turn lane would be added to eastbound Route 72. A six-inch barrier median also will be constructed next to the left turn lanes from Route 72 and on the eastern section from the intersection to east of Seventh Street.

Barriers also are planned for Route 31 from Route 72 north to Kane Street, eliminating southbound access into businesses such as Starbucks, Chipotle and Speedway.

Instead, motorists will need to turn left from Route 31 onto Route 72, then left at Sixth Street and left on Washington to the entrance of the property.

"We're making it so difficult to get through town that people are going to drive to Elgin or Algonquin," Trustee Joseph Motyl said.

Ted Hortis of Capital Property Management, which owns the Walgreen development on the northwest side of the intersection, said the new configurations make it difficult to enter businesses such as Shell and Jiffy Lube.

"There is going to be a lot more traffic in the neighborhoods," Hortis said. "People are going to drive around the neighborhood just to find a way into the entrance ... these businesses will lose a lot of business ... and become vacant. This is not alleviating the problem, it is adding to it."

But Village Manager Joe Cavallaro said the main purpose is safety and that a complete overhaul of the intersection is unlikely, even though the intersection has not been renovated since it was built in 1980.

"The intersection has been under capacity and overutilized for 25 of the 30 years," Cavallaro said. "This fix will last another 20 years."

The village will hold additional meetings and will accept input until the end of the month, Cavallaro said.