advertisement

Commuter Drive work nears end in Rolling Meadows

Despite a few delays, Rolling Meadows is close to finishing its long-awaited reconstruction of Commuter Drive.

Officials said the repair project undertaken jointly by Rolling Meadows and Arlington Heights is 95 percent complete, and is expected to be finished next week.

Don Wenzel, the superintendent of facilities at the Rolling Meadows Public Works Department, said talk about repairing Commuter Drive from Rohlwing Road to the Arlington Park Metra station started roughly eight years ago. A great deal of behind-the scenes work had been done during that time before beginning construction in March, he said.

“Commuter Drive has been in poor condition for several years,” Wenzel added. “Needless to say, it just got worse.”

Besides road reconstruction, the project included drainage improvements, installation of curbs and gutters, and the addition of bike paths. Officials hope the paths will encourage commuters to use modes of transportation other than their cars.

“The construction of bike paths was in our master plan,” Wenzel said. “It was mostly a traffic mitigation to provide access to mass transit and alternate transportation. That will hopefully reduced the amount of vehicles on the road and vehicle emissions.”

Trees have also been added to revamp the scenery around Commuter Drive.

“Once it's all said and done, people who use the commuter lot will be appreciative for our efforts,” Wenzel said.

Melissa Gallagher, Rolling Meadows' finance director, said the project's $1.8 million cost was funded primarily by two federal grants administered through the Illinois Department of Transportation. Arlington Heights and Rolling Meadows each paid $180,000 toward the costs.

  The reconstruction of Commuter Drive, which runs from Rohlwing Road in Rolling Meadows to the Arlington Park Metra station, should be complete next week, officials say. The $1.8 million project was undertaken jointly by Rolling Meadows and Arlington Heights. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.