With bridge repair done, Quentin Road stretch reopens in Palatine
A bridge repair has been completed much faster than projected and traffic is moving again in both directions along a busy stretch of Quentin Road in Palatine.
Drivers as recently as Monday could see signs warning that about one mile of southbound Quentin would be closed to traffic between Lake-Cook and Dundee roads until Aug. 24. The Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways started fixing the 100-year-old Baldwin Creek bridge on July 30.
However, the signs were gone Tuesday and traffic flowed in both directions.
Palatine Village Manager Reid Ottesen said officials received word last Friday the bridge work just needed to pass an inspection. Cook County spokeswoman Natalia Derevyanny said the job was considered finished Tuesday.
Ottesen had expressed concern about the bridge work occurring when Palatine Township Elementary District 15 classes resume Aug. 15.
Cook County spokeswoman Becky Schlikerman the bridge repair cost about $300,000. The work included adding structural steel beams to the bridge, located near the entrance to Deer Grove West Forest Preserve.
Quentin is mostly one lane in each direction between Dundee and Lake-Cook. That stretch receives about 20,400 vehicle trips daily, according to the latest Illinois Department of Transportation statistics.
Cook County has been considering a full renovation of the stretch of roadway, but that would not occur until 2021 at the earliest, according to documents submitted to the Northwest Council of Mayors Technical Committee.