Downtown Antioch street work will be 'inconvenient'
It may be a rough couple of months for downtown Antioch business owners once street work begins April 5.
As part of the $13.5 million Route 83 road construction project, Main Street merchants will face lane closures, detours and other challenges as crews work to replace storm sewers, and improve intersections and sidewalks in the business district.
About 50 people showed up Wednesday morning to a construction update meeting hosted by the Antioch Chamber of Commerce.
Antioch Village Administrator Jim Keim was there, along with village engineers, to explain details and answer questions.
Keim said folks need to expect disruptions.
"Work has to occur. There will be inconvenience. There's no question about it," he said. "We wish there was a way to do this without inconveniencing people."
Assuming the weather is good and there aren't many surprise construction complications, IDOT officials say the downtown portion of the project should be done in 45 working days.
The major work of replacing storm sewers will take place on the west side of Main Street. Traffic lanes will be shifted to the east side of the street from Park Avenue to Depot Street. Sidewalks will be improved and intersections and signal lights along the route will be upgraded.
The temporary loss of parking spaces on the west side was one concern raised by the business community during the meeting. Others had questions about driveway access, possible shutdowns of water lines, utility trucks taking up customer parking spaces and more.
Antioch Public Library Director Kathy LeBuda is concerned about library staff being able to get out of the parking lot in the late afternoon.
"With Williams Street closed during Little League games and the work on Main Street, it's going to be very difficult for my staff to leave at the end of the day," LeBuda said. "People use our lot to park during games and now with the construction, I'm concerned this is going to deter patrons."
Village officials said they would do everything possible to address LeBuda's worries.
"We will work closely with the contractor to minimize any inconvenience," Keim said.
The downtown work is just one leg of a major widening of Route 83 from Petite Lake Road in Lake Villa, through Antioch to the Wisconsin state line. It comes at the same time North Avenue in Antioch will be closed for construction for nearly eight months.
The meeting wasn't all doom and gloom, however. A collective chuckle happened after day care center manager Jessica Malcolm asked: "Is there any way you guys cannot dig during nap time?"