Algonquin planning $3.5 million in upgrades to Stonegate Road, Bunker Hill Drive

Algonquin is taking the first steps to address two roads that are in particularly bad condition, Stonegate Road and Bunker Hill Drive.

Fixing those roads has been on the village's radar for a while, Algonquin Public Works Director Bob Mitchard said.

Bunker Hill saw seasonal issues with frost exacerbate what Mitchard described as a "washboard" ripple effect on the road, while portions of Stonegate show "alligator cracking," he said. That's when the material below the asphalt doesn't adequately support the roadway, causing it to break apart in a scale-like pattern.

While the cost for fixing those two roads could exceed $3.5 million, the village could get federal assistance later this year through the U.S. Department of Transportation's Surface Transportation Program.

That program works only if municipalities agree to a 20% funding match, with the federal funds covering either 80%, up to a maximum of $1.5 million for each project.

The village board approved its 20% funding contribution to those projects at its March 15 meeting, and submitted its application for the federal dollars later that week.

"It makes sense for us to send in the applications with new federal money flowing around," Mitchard said, referencing a recent appropriations bill and the infrastructure bill passed last year.

The Stonegate and Bunker Hill improvements are expected to cost the village $445,000 and $420,000, respectively.