Kirchoff Road resurfacing still on schedule to be done by September
Despite traffic headaches during the summer months, a long-planned resurfacing of Kirchoff Road in Rolling Meadows remains on schedule with its expected completion by September, city officials said this week.
"The real thing that everybody's interested in is are we on schedule, and the answer is yes," said Rob Horne, the city's director of public works.
Kirchoff between Hicks and New Wilke roads - a major arterial through what's considered the city's traditional downtown - has been torn up since the spring as crews work on resurfacing 1.75 miles of roadway.
Vehicle traffic is relegated to outer lanes - one going each way - while Arrow Road Construction Co. workers perform patching on the concrete road base of the interior lanes. That process is expected to continue this week and next, ahead of the planned pouring of the first layer of hot mix asphalt beginning Aug. 5, city officials say.
Once done, permanent road closures on Kirchoff will be removed, and other construction still to take place will cause daily lane closures, according to Horne.
After the first layer of asphalt is poured, crews will install traffic signal detector loops and restore the parkway, Horne said.
They plan to apply the final layer of asphalt and pavement markings by the middle or end of August, with final planting and turf work scheduled after Sept. 1.
Despite all the rainfall this summer, he said plans are to be finished with the project by early or mid-September, which is consistent with the contract completion requirements of the Illinois Department of Transportation.
The state agency, using federal funds, is paying for 80% of the $2,073,870 construction costs, with the city covering the remainder.
What was a minor hiccup in the construction process occurred June 12 when a storm sewer collapsed in the closed eastbound lane at the southeast corner of Kirchoff Road and Owl Drive. That delayed traffic switching over from interior lanes to exterior lanes by about a week.
The portion of Kirchoff east of Salt Creek was last resurfaced in 1995; the portion west of there was done a few years later.
In addition to the resurfacing, the project includes upgrades to the bridge over Salt Creek, a reconfiguration of medians under Route 53 and replacement of underground traffic signal loops at intersections.