Road projects clogging traffic

Comments (...)

Westbound traffic along Algonquin Road slows to a crawl Monday evening in the construction zone between Sandbloom Road and Route 25 in Algonquin. (Travis Haughton - thaughton@nwherald.com)

E-mail this story

Print this story

Comments

Share

CARY – Road work on two major east-west thoroughfares has some motorists seeing red.

The Illinois Department of Transportation is performing patching work on Algonquin Road and Route 14. Portions of Route 14 in Cary and Fox River Grove have been reduced to one lane in each direction. Parts of Algonquin Road in Algonquin also have been reduced to one lane in each direction.

The work has caused significant backups on both roads during peak hours.

The patching projects are “intended to preserve the concrete pavement throughout” the area, IDOT spokeswoman Marisa Kollias said. The Algonquin Road work is part of a $1,102,740 contract that includes patching in 12 locations throughout Kane and DuPage counties. The work on Route 14 is part of a $999,970 contract that includes patching in eight locations in McHenry and Lake counties.

For Cary resident Troy Lufman, an outside salesman with an office in Schaumburg, the traffic has been a nightmare. His commute nearly doubled, from 35 minutes to an hour or more.

“I’ve been spending a lot more time in traffic,” he said.

Lufman is not alone. Motorists also have been calling Cary Village Hall to complain about the traffic, said Village Administrator Cameron Davis. Most of the calls have been directed to IDOT because the village has no control over the project, Davis said.

IDOT intends to finish the patching work before winter, Kollias said.

“The extremely wet October had delayed the completion of some locations and the start of others,” she said. “Future patching contracts will be scrutinized to ensure parallel routes will not be affected simultaneously.”

Patching work of this kind requires that crews close lanes for the duration of the project and it’s not unusual for them to dig up what appear to be good chunks of concrete, Kollias said.

The Algonquin Road project is expected to be completed by Thanksgiving and, provided the weather cooperates, the Route 14 work should be done by Nov. 17. However, there may be additional daytime lane closures after Nov. 17 to seal patches that have not been finished, Kollias said.

Comments