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LakeForestLeader.com NEWS
the lake forest leader | July 18, 2019 | 3
Lake Bluff Village Board
Village surprised by $61-million
overhaul of Lake Bluff interchange
Stephanie Kim
Freelance Reporter
Round it up:
A brief recap of Village Board Action Monday, July 8
• Scott Griffith of Christopher B. Burke Engineering
gave a presentation on the Village’s stormwater
study, which analyzes about 300 identified existing
stormwater systems that have been grouped in
six different study areas. The study is expected to
be completed by September. Village Engineer Jeff
Hansen said the Village can expect two stormwater
projects to start within the next two weeks, starting
with tree removal.
• President Kathleen O’Hara commended the
department of public works and the police
department for their efforts during the Fourth of July
parade.
For years, commuters
traveling through the interchange
at Illinois Route
176 and U.S. Route 41 in
Lake Bluff have faced considerable
daily traffic congestion
and safety hazards.
But a long-planned upgrade
to the interchange is
now closer to completion,
now that $61 million has
been secured for the project.
The funding comes from
the recently signed Rebuild
Illinois capital construction
plan, which includes nearly
$45 billion for state repairs
to roads, bridges and transit
over the span of six years.
State Senator Julie Morrison,
D-Deerfield, made
the announcement over the
Fourth of July weekend,
which came as a surprise
to the Lake Bluff Village
Board, according to President
Kathleen O’Hara.
“We heard this week,
much to our surprise to be
totally honest, that $61 million
is going to be allocated
for the 41-176 exchange,”
O’Hara said at the Village
Board meeting on Monday,
July 8.
“We hope to be at the
table,” she added, “but
we’re not sure if we’re sitting
with the adults ... or the
kiddies table.”
O’Hara noted the
$61-million overhaul of the
Lake Bluff interchange is
a state project and consists
of three phases. Phase I
was completed in 2015 and
focused on an engineering
and environmental study
that steered the design of
the project.
State funding will go toward
Phase II, which will
include land acquisition and
construction development
of acceleration and deceleration
lanes, drainage improvements
and reconstruction
of the interchange, and
then actual construction to
follow in Phase III, according
to Village Administrator
Drew Irvin.
Based on initial conversations
with the Illinois Department
of Transportation,
Irvin said Phase II could be
completed in three years.
“From the Village’s perspective,
the next step that
will involve this board
would be ... to enter into a
letter of intent with the Department
of Transportation
about what we expect for
improvements along that
corridor,” Irvin said.
Those improvements
could include additional
lighting, paths, landscaping
and other ancillary improvements
associated with
the project.
“It’s a massive project,”
Village Engineer Jeff Hansen
said. “And there will be
a center median down 176,
so if you are going eastbound
and you want to access
some of the businesses
on the north side, you’d
make a U-turn, then a cut
and then turn around and
make a right turn.”
In a press release published
July 5, Morrison said
“...it was clear this project
would greatly enhance travel
safety in the area” after
working with local officials.
Additionally, Governor
JB Pritzker said the plan
will impact every region of
the state.
“With Democrats and
Republicans coming together,
we passed the largest
and most robust capital
plan in state history that
will rebuild roads, bridges,
transit, and vertical infrastructure
across the state,”
Pritzker says in the release.
“Here in Lake and Cook
Counties, I’m so proud that
we’re bringing critical investments
to roads like U.S.
41 and higher education
institutions like College
of Lake County. This is a
plan that will impact every
region of the state, create
tens of thousands of jobs,
and grow our economy and
I’m grateful to leaders like
Senator Morrison for helping
to make it a reality.”
From the City
Deerpath Crossing train
track maintenance to take
place
The railroad crossing
at Deerpath, Western,
McKinley roads will be
closed from Thursday,
Aug. 8-Friday, Aug. 16,
during which time Union
Pacific Railroad will conduct
grade crossing rehabilitation
work. All traffic
will be re-routed to the
crossing at Westminster,
Western, McKinley roads
to the north.
Free Sunday concert with
the Navy Band
American Legion
McKinlock Post 264 celebrates
100 years with a
free family-friendly Navy
Band Great Lakes concert
in Market Square on Sunday,
Aug. 18, 4-6 p.m.
Bring a chair and listen
to 45 professional musicians,
whose music continues
the legacy of bandmaster
Lieutenant Commander
John Philip Sousa, spreading
the tradition of military
music throughout the Midwest.
The Wind Ensemble’s
repertoire consists of symphonic
band works, patriotic
music, Americana,
and featured solo vocal
and instrumental selections.
As a Post-Lake Forest
Day celebration, let’s
all gather to honor and
thank Lake Forest’s war
veterans, both present and
fallen.
From the City is compiled by
Interim Editor Nick Frazier
from the City’s e-newsletter.
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