Final payment closes book on Rollins Gateway project, 3 years after it opened
Three years ago, a major traffic snag in north central Lake County was untangled with the opening of the Rollins Gateway project in Round Lake Beach.
But it wasn't until recently the most expensive and complicated road project undertaken by the Lake County Division of Transportation was considered complete.
That happened Sept. 11 when the Lake County Board authorized spending $2.7 million as the final payment to complete acquisition of 49 parcels, including homes and businesses, for the right of way needed.
Altogether, land acquisition from shopping centers, businesses, investment properties, homeowners and others accounted for $21.9 million of the total $71.5 million project cost.
Construction took more than two years and involved lowering Rollins beneath the Canadian National tracks, which had crossed at grade immediately west of busy Route 83. causing monumental traffic backups.
The project also involved construction of a railroad bridge with room for a second track, widening the intersection at Route 83, and realigning Hainesville Road to align with the entrance of the revamped Mallard Creek shopping center, now anchored by a Meijer grocery store.
LCDOT and the Illinois Department of Transportation, which has jurisdiction over Route 83, used "quick take" authority to get property at the northeast corner of the Rollins/Route 83 intersection to allow the project to continue without delay for a fall 2015 completion, explained Brooke Hooker, LCDOT spokeswoman.
Since then, drivers have benefitted as the land acquisition process continued, she said.
According to Assistant County Engineer Al Giertych, quick take is a formal process used before the final cost is either agreed to by the parties or set by a jury at trial.
According to a published report, one of those proceedings ended last summer after four years of litigation with the owner awarded $7.1 million, well over the initial offer of $2.7 million.
IDOT acquired some of the properties via quick take, but the county paid for them as part of its "Challenge Bond" program using proceeds from a 0.25 percent regional sales tax enacted in 2009. The county has used that money solely for road construction, including work on state routes.
The final payment was not unexpected, but the exact amount was not known until settlement hearings ended this past August, Hooker said. The spending had been programmed and budgeted, Giertych said.
An estimated 50,000 vehicles per day pass through the intersection and about 60 Metra commuter and CN freight trains pass over Rollins on the new bridge, according to Hooker.
Giertych said studies have shown the average delay per vehicle traveling through the intersection has dropped from about 47 seconds to 30 seconds in the morning rush and from about 99 seconds to 38 seconds in the evening rush.
However, that analysis shows the improvement only from the lane additions at the intersection and does not take into account the "very significant" benefit of taking the 60 trains a day out of the mix, he said.
Besides having a major impact by untangling traffic in the heavily traveled commercial area, improved appearance and site lines have made it more attractive for investment, said Village Administrator Dave Kilbane.
He said the revitalization/redevelopment of the 1970s-era Mallard Creek center with Meijer opening in 2016 is a prime example, with new businesses planned or underway.