As Lake County readies to spend $850 million in the next six years enhancing transportation with improved safety, expanded mobility, less carbon emissions and more, 17.6% of the funds are going to an area where 370 crashes occurred in the past five years.
With approximately 25,000 cars going through the Old McHenry Crossings area each day with heavy freight train traffic in an area with four major roads in close proximity, the county plans to spend $150 million to improve the situation.
“We’re building a railroad underpass in an area where Fairfield, Midlothian and Quentin roads cross Old McHenry Road,” Assistant County Engineer Kevin Carrier said. “We’re adding lanes and turn lanes for this multiyear project.”
The Old McHenry Crossings endeavor is one of more than 300 projects comprising the $850 million updated multimodal Transportation Improvement Program approved by the Lake County Board in July, providing long-term planning.
From the initial concept planning through ongoing construction, the projects are spread over the four corners of Lake County, from Highland Park to Antioch and from Zion to the Barrington area.
Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart said the primary reason the county will spend a number approaching $1 billion on transportation over the next six years is to improve the quality of life for the people who live, work and travel to the area.
“We prioritize infrastructure improvements to make life easier for our residents,” she said. “Making life easier for our residents shows Lake County is open and ready for economic development.”
Of the 300 projects composing the plan, they are in varying stages of progress, from initial planning to ongoing construction. To help residents know the status of work impacting them, the county has created an online dashboard for continual updates.
A glance at the dashboard shows a map with an icon for each project. Clicking on the icon reveals a description of the effort, its location and what it involves. A click on the project description goes to a section showing the status of the work, costs and more.
An evolving plan, Carrier said each year it is modified, removing completed projects and
adding the newest. It grew from approximately $650 million in 2022, to $809 million last
year, to its present $850 million.
Goals of the plan include maintaining more than 900 lane miles of roadways, increasing driver and pedestrian safety, improving mobility and reducing carbon emissions, according to the plan.
Maintenance projects include rebuilding or resurfacing roads while keeping bridges, bicycle paths and traffic signals in a good state of repair, according to the plan.
Modernization efforts focus on increasing safety, reducing delays and improving nonmotorized transportation.
“It’s important to develop nonmotorized infrastructure so people don’t need to use a car get where they want to go,” Hart said. “When we can, we like to have a separate bike path to increase safety.”
Keeping roadways in good condition on an ongoing basis reduces larger, more expensive projects in the future. Carrier said safety enhancements include adding roundabouts where practical to slow traffic at intersections.
“Roundabouts force drivers to reduce speed, and they reduce the points of conflict between vehicles,” Carrier said. “There are less severe injuries and damage than a crash at 45 mph at an intersection.”
Each time a project is considered, Carrier said there is always an effort to include bicycle and pedestrian accommodations, as well as seeking ways to make traffic flow more efficiently like turn lanes.
Though the Old McHenry Crossings project is entering the design phase this year, Carrier said construction is not scheduled to start until 2026. It will be a multiyear venture with the railroad crossing topping the agenda.
Plans for the Old McHenry Crossings effort will ease traffic flow where Fairfield, Midlothian and Quentin roads cross Old McHenry. An underpass will be built where Old McHenry Road intersects with the Canadian National Railway tracks.
Another major project is the $42 million rerouting of Cedar Lake Road around downtown Round Lake. It got a boost, with an $18.8 million grant from the federal government in June. Carrier said construction will not likely start for three years.
A $46 million project to widen Deerfield Road through Riverwoods, turning a two-lane street into a three-lane roadway, will ease traffic flow with the middle lane devoted to left turns. Carrier said the county is acquiring the land necessary, with construction planned for 2026.