Lake County’s $26.4M Project to Transform Arlington Heights Road
A busy 1.9-mile stretch of Arlington Heights Road in the south part of Lake County is getting a makeover. They’re planning to rebuild it over the next two years.
The Lake County Board decided to put $26.4 million into this project, stretching from Lake-Cook Road to a bit north of Route 83. They’ve been talking about this since early 2021 and had a virtual meeting in early 2022 to hear what people think.
The road, made of concrete and built in 1980, is pretty old and worn out. They’re going to rip it out and replace it with smoother asphalt. It’s noisy because of the gaps between the concrete sections, and around 26,000 cars drive through there every day.
Smoother ride planned for Arlington Heights Road in @lakecounty @lcdot @lcpassage @buffalogrove_il @enjoylonggrove https://t.co/lArcRQENaq
— Daily Herald (@dailyherald) November 16, 2023
Jennifer Clark, from the Lake County Board, thinks this change will make the road quieter and give everyone a better ride.
They’re using $15 million from a plan called Rebuild Illinois, $3.1 million from a county tax for bridges, and $8.3 million from the county’s funds to pay for this. They’ll ask for construction bids early next year, and the work will happen until 2025.
They’re only fixing the road, not making it wider. The bike path on the east side will stay, and they’ll fill gaps in sidewalks on the west side to make a continuous path from Route 83 to Checker Road.
They’re not doing much with the intersections at Route 83 or Lake-Cook Road because other agencies are in charge of those. But they are planning some changes at Lake-Cook separately.
Buffalo Grove is looking into improving Lake-Cook from Arlington Heights Road to Raupp Boulevard. They’re checking the area and thinking about what would be best for traffic and the environment.
This whole thing is split into different phases, like planning and designing, and it takes a few years for each part. Cook County is almost done fixing up Lake-Cook from Raupp Boulevard through Arlington Heights Road too.
