Huntley Road projects under way in Carpentersville, West Dundee

Two multimillion-dollar projects to widen and reconstruct Huntley Road are under way in West Dundee and Carpentersville, starting with the relocation of private utilities and removal of roadside trees.

The roadway improvements, which also will include a portion of Carpentersville's Main Street, are expected to take 18 to 20 months to complete, said Ed Szydlowski, Carpentersville's engineering manager. Contractors began work last week.

When construction is finished, about 1.1 miles of Huntley Road from Elm Avenue to Sleepy Hollow Road will be widened to two lanes in each direction with a center median, Szydlowski said. Turn lanes will be added wherever needed, and signals at the Elm Avenue intersection will be replaced.

The roughly $11 million project, which also includes stormwater sewer, landscaping and pedestrian crosswalk upgrades, falls into the jurisdiction of both West Dundee and Carpentersville. About $7.8 million of project costs are funded through federal grants, with the two villages splitting the remaining expenses.

In a separate project solely in Carpentersville, the intersection at Huntley Road and Route 31 will be improved with pedestrian crosswalks, landscaping and turn lanes for every direction. Work on a water main between Elm Avenue and Route 31 will begin in the next few weeks, Szydlowski said.

Additionally, the improvements will extend east of Route 31 where Huntley Road becomes Carpentersville's Main Street. Turn lanes will be added at Main Street and Lincoln Avenue.

Grants will cover about $9.6 million, or 82 percent, of the cost of that project, Szydlowski said. Carpentersville is responsible for the remaining $1.7 million.

West Dundee is expected to post Huntley Road project updates on the village's website, Twitter and Facebook pages. On Wednesday, Carpentersville launched a new website - www.il31huntleyroad.com - to provide updates on the Huntley Road and Route 31 intersection project.