Businesses see barrier to Route 45 widening
They've known for years about a plan to widen Route 45 but it wasn't until a few weeks ago that business owners along a stretch in Grayslake began to worry about their futures.
That the project from Route 120 north to Washington Street apparently is moving ahead doesn't bother them. However, a detail on the blueprints delivered by the Illinois Department of Transportation grabbed their attention.
"It's huge. It's 18 feet wide with trees and bushes," said Chuck Ravenscraft, general manager of Fast Jacks car wash and detailing center. Ravenscraft and others say the widening is needed, but a barrier median will strand some businesses on the east side of the street.
"It's almost like pulling a curtain down on the other side of the street here," said Robert Mullen, owner of Music Source, which has operated across from the Lake County Farm Bureau for 20 years. "We also teach. Access for us is very important."
The stretch between Route 120 and Washington Street is one of several connected segments of Route 45 that have been in IDOT plans since 1996, but not funded. The Grayslake stretch remains so, but is considered a high priority for funding if the state passes a capital plan, according to IDOT.
The state has acquired property, including the former Blue Moon tavern, to widen the road and is trying to secure easements from land owners to stage equipment during construction.
How or why the activity has begun now is uncertain. However, a contract for the adjoining segment south of Route 120 to Route 137 was awarded two weeks ago, and work on the nearly $8.2 million project is set to begin.
That project, and the widening of Route 83 in Lake Villa and Antioch, were announced last fall by state Sen. Michael Bond, who is vice chairman of the Senate transportation committee.
Ravenscraft and others have been trying to meet with Bond personally without success but have contacted other local officials, including state Rep. Sandy Cole and Lake County Board member Pat Carey. An estimated two dozen businesses could be affected.
"I don't want to see these guys unemployed," Cole said recently. She regards the barrier median as an unnecessary expense that would be difficult to maintain. She had planned to meet with IDOT officials but was unavailable for comment Wednesday.
Bond, who also could not be reached Wednesday, questioned IDOT about the barrier median last August.
In a written response, Diane O'Keefe, deputy director of highways, said Route 45 is held to a higher standard because it is a strategic regional arterial route.
"A primary goal along these SRA routes is to control access to the extent possible to improve both safety and capacity," O'Keefe wrote. A barrier median, with left-turn lanes and openings, "is a fundamental means" to do that, she added.
Whether the design can or will be changed remains unanswered. Business owners say a center-turn lane without a median would be a better option.
"There definitely seems like there's room to compromise," Mullen said.