Playing catch-up

Before we begin, let’s get caught up on a few Lake County Transportation topics.

Tri-State Rebuild and Widen: Trucking right along, although I can’t resist asking “Are we there yet?” about the completion date. The northbound express lane recently disappeared and there are three all-access northbound lanes now.

Route 120: The bypass seems to be the thing. Volozen shares info from the Daily Herald: Consensus Reached on 120 Vision. Route 120 Corridor Planning Council has the details in their October 16 press release.

Route 53: Aside from the “yes” vote registered on the 2009 referendum, I haven’t heard much else about 53. Note that the referendum’s passage didn’t mean 53 was going to happen any time soon, but Lake County voters have made their opinions known. Let me know when the earth movers show up.

Construction: There’s quite a bit of it. Methinks federal stimulus money is spurring construction jobs and roadwork-induced commuter headaches well into late fall/early winter this year. Hopefully a bit of short-term motorist pain will give way to long-term motorist relief, at least until the housing market picks up and population increases.  Lake County Passage’s text-only Mobile web page provides a quick glance of what’s underway. Commuters are especially delayed by the various projects around Rt. 22, which coupled with limited escape routing through woodsy burbs makes this road a much-groaned-about topic.

Motorist links for the Road Week Ahead:

• Lake County DOT construction alerts
• Illinois DOT Lake County construction update report
• Illinois Tollway construction alerts
• Interstate 94 weather report

Filed under: Commuting, Congestion Relief, I-94, Route 120, Route 22, Route 53

The deal with Deerfield Parkway

Pardon my posting lag. The Memorial Day weekend was delightfully exhausting, and I spent precious little time with the computer.

But commuting carries on, as does road construction.

Commenter Rob asked, “Anyone know what project is planned at or near Deerfield Rd. & Milwaukee. EXPECT DELAY flashing signs appeared on both roads last week. Unable to find any info about what to expect?”

Filed under: Roads, Berenesa Plaza, Buffalo Grove, Deerfield Parkway, Milwaukee Avenue

Loss of lane brings newfound frustration

A funny thing happened along Lake-Cook Road east of the Tri-State last week: One of the lanes was taken away. Seemingly, everyone was caught off-guard. Traffic was backed up for miles, with a mix of motorists and Pace shuttle buses going nowhere fast.

Filed under: Roads, deerfield, Lake-Cook Road, Ravinia, Waukegan Road, Wilmot Road

A road by many other names

As the owner of an automobile GPS unit, I’ve taken notice of route numbers during my trips about town. I first noticed that the route numbers on the Lake County signs did not match the route numbers in my GPS unit.

Notably, my GPS refers to Gilmer Road as County Route (CR) 26, yet the signs I see along the road refer to it as CR-V76.

I initially viewed this as the GPS unit’s error. Disappointed with this apparent inaccuracy, I blamed the computer, as blame is the heritage bestowed upon all computers worldwide (it is always the computer’s fault, after all).

I then checked the Gilmer Road map on a different GPS unit for verification and, alas, Gilmer was again numbered as CR-26. Whaaaa? Are these the markings of a conspiracy of confusion?

Filed under: Roads, Fairfield Road, Gilmer Road, GPS, maps

Russell Road re-route during tollway construction

Chris asked for information about the next stage of Tri-State Tollway construction:

Q.: “My co-workers and I are looking for information of the upcoming road work just off I-94 southbound that merges into 41 just south of russell road. Signs are posted stating that construction will begin early March – we are seeing activity by the bridge. Will this exist [sic] be closed? What is the actual date and is there an alternate detour planned? I could not find any information about this pending construction. Many Wisconsin motorists travel this route heading south on 94 and take the left hand lane exit to enter 41. Any information concerning this construction would help us figure are new route and help stop back-up traffic that could occur.”

Filed under: I-94, Russell Road, US-41