Fremont Center Road project would add turn lanes, traffic signal

Planning to realign the tricky intersection of Fremont Center Road with Route 60 in the Mundelein area is proceeding.

The Lake County Board on Nov. 14 will consider a not-to-exceed contract of $300,747 with Civiltech Engineering Inc., of Itasca, for Phase II design work, the last step before actual construction.

The board's public works and transportation committee on Wednesday recommended approval of the contract. Besides the realignment, the project includes adding turn lanes, a traffic signal and bike path.

"This is a pretty straightforward project for us," said Darrell Kuntz, project manager for the Lake County Division of Transportation. "This is a safety improvement to reduce accidents."

Fremont Center and Erhart Road to the south meet Route 60 at angles that make it tough for buses serving Fremont Elementary District 79 to turn left onto Route 60, which about 20,000 vehicles travel on each day.

Fremont Center would be realigned to meet Route 60 at a less oblique angle and widened for right- and left-turn lanes. Route 60 would be widened to provide an eastbound right-turn lane and westbound left-turn lane. A 10-foot-wide path on the west side of Fremont Center Road would match a future connection to Behm Homestead Park.

The county is proposing to acquire about two-thirds of an acre for the project and an old school house at the southeast corner will be removed. The engineering study is expected to take about a year. Construction is planned for 2019 or 2020 depending on available funding, Kuntz said.

The Fremont Center Road project is meant to be compatible with potential future extensions of Alleghany Road and Winchester Road as part of a regional system, which also will be part of Civiltech's engineering study.

"We wanted to put it in the right place," Kuntz said of the realignment. "Those (road extensions) would come about should development drive the need for those roads." Kuntz said.

A public information session regarding those corridors is expected to be held this winter.