IDOT to close ramps at major Gurnee intersection until Aug. 6

Getting on Route 41 from Grand Avenue in Gurnee is going to be more painful for drivers this summer.

The Illinois Department of Transportation announced last week that Tuesday, May 29, the ramp from Grand Avenue to northbound Route 41 and the ramp that connects southbound Route 41 to Grand Avenue will be closed. Traffic will be detoured to Route 21.

The ramps will remain closed until Aug. 6.

During that time, traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction on Grand Avenue between Estes Street and Magnolia Avenue.

The work is part of the larger state project to widen the Grand Avenue underpass and to provide new sidewalks for pedestrians. Adding more turn lanes to Grand Avenue will provide a better, safer flow of traffic, according to IDOT. The ramps need to be closed to allow for the widening of Grand Avenue.

The two ramps are the latest closure as part of the project.

Last weekend, IDOT closed the intersection of Grand Avenue and Route 41 so crews could remove what remained of an old railway bridge. The closure was expected to last from Friday evening until Monday morning but the work was finished early and the intersection reopened Sunday, according to Jack Linehan, the assistant to the Gurnee village administrator.

After the ramp work, the two big items remaining for IDOT crews will be to widen Grand Avenue and to build a new permanent railroad bridge over it. Trains are currently running on a temporary bridge.

The underpass project will be completed in spring 2019, IDOT officials said.