Getting to and from Elgin: More and more complicated, thanks to parallel roads under construction

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Updated: November 30, 2011 12:32AM

ELGIN — Motorists trying to get into and out of Elgin in recent weeks may have noted what seems to be a trend in construction.

But no, officials say, there is no conspiracy to make either entering or leaving Elgin seem next to impossible.

“We recognize that the construction activity is problematic for Elgin,” said David Lawry, public services director for the city.

Many of the projects are being done by other agencies even though they mainly affect Elgin, he noted.

“We can ask for some dispensation in terms of scheduling, but all we can do is ask,” Lawry said.

In recent weeks, drivers likely have noticed that at alternating times, the entrance and exit ramps to Route 31 at I-90 have been closed for construction — including on the same days that Route 31 at Route 20 was restricted to one southbound lane for a few days as Elgin installed new, separate sewers for stormwater and wastewater from the southwest side.

The ramp work at Route 31 and I-90 is part of an Illinois Toll Highway Authority resurfacing project that has lanes on I-90 closed from the Elgin Toll Plaza to Barrington Road.

Randall Road also was under construction at the same time at Bowes Road in conjunction with the impending opening of the new Walmart in Elgin, and at Gyorr Road in South Elgin as that intersection was resurfaced.

The city’s two largest east-west highways are narrowed at the same time. Route 20 has been reduced to one lane in each at the same time that lanes have been closed for repaving on the tollway. And some entrance ramps have been closed at Routes 20 and 59 during resurfacing being done there by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

The last straw?

And on Monday morning, the latest uncoordinated combination of projects struck, at the city’s northeast corner.

The exit/entrance ramp for both directions of Route 25 at I-90 is now closed for the next two weeks, Lawry noted. And at the same time, drivers who might have hoped to use Congdon Avenue and Shoe Factory Road as an alternate route learned that the village of Hoffman Estates has closed off Shoe Factory Road between Beverly Road and Route 59 until Sept. 30.

The Shoe Factory Road project “is not the last straw, but it is another straw in the pile” that may break the camel’s back, Lawry said.

Shoe Factory will be closed at its Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway crossing as the railroad’s new owner, Canadian National Railway, takes steps to reduce the impact of increased train traffic likely to be caused by its takeover of the EJ&E.

Mike Hankey, director of transportation and engineering for Hoffman Estates, said the railroad will extend an existing “siding” track hundreds of feet to the south, so that the Shoe Factory crossing now will have two tracks instead of one. That will allow longer trains or a larger number of trains to be shunted to the side temporarily and parked while oncoming trains pass by on the one-track main line.

The railroad also will install new rubberized crossing surfaces to keep motorists’ travel across both tracks smooth, and will install raised medians with 6-inch curbs between the opposing lanes of traffic so drivers aren’t tempted to move into the oncoming lane and drive around the crossing gates.

Hankey said the railroad and Cook County Highway Department also have just finished installing — but have not yet tested and turned on — an electronic sign on the other side of the steep hill just east of the rail crossing to warn westbound drivers when the crossing gates are down and a line of cars has backed up ahead of them. That is expected to reduce the risk of rear-end collisions at or near the crossing.

Bike connection

Hankey said the railroad also will install a paved bike path across the tracks, connecting an existing bike path through Poplar Creek Woods Forest Preserve to an existing path along Shoe Factory Road from the railroad crossing to McDonough Road.

“Ultimately, the plan is to connect that path with the path along Congdon Avenue in Elgin so people can ride all the way from Elgin’s east side through the forest preserve up to the trail head, where Shoe Factory Road runs into Route 72” in Hoffman Estates, Hankey said.

Lawry said engineers from the city try to coordinate work with other agencies, including the county, state, tollway and surrounding towns.

“But just about every entryway to Elgin is torn up, and none of it is ours,” he said.

End in sight

There is a light at the end of the construction tunnel, however. Work at Randall and Bowes roads — expanding the intersection to six lanes in either direction to accommodate the new Walmart store — is expected to wrap up soon.

The near-completion of the Randall/Bowes project led nearby Nick’s Pizza & Pub to host its own celebration. Nick’s has seen its parking lot entrances changed as part of the project, which started in early April, and Nick’s hosted an “End to Construction” party Sept. 1 to celebrate.

That $14 million project is being paid for by Walmart, Lawry noted, adding that Walmart has a sales tax rebate deal with the city of Elgin to recoup some of its costs. Most lanes at Randall and Bowes now are open, and the final completion date is in late September except for landscaping and similar ancillary work.

Elgin’s own sewer work on the city’s near-southwest side to separate sanitary and storm sewer lines is ongoing as well, he said, but Lawry did not anticipate further blockages along Route 31 to complete that work, as the construction heads westward along Adams Street.

Staff writer Dave Gathman contributed to this story.