Widening of Route 45 in Vernon Hills to be discussed

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Updated: March 2, 2012 8:13AM

VERNON HILLS — The Illinois Department of Transportation will host a public hearing open house regarding the proposed widening of Route 45 from Route 60/Route 83 to Milwaukee Avenue on Tuesday, Feb. 7, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Sullivan Community Center, 635 N. Aspen Drive.

Kimberly Murphy, consultant studies unit head for IDOT District 1, said the hearing is an opportunity for the public to give final comments on the proposed plan.

IDOT officials will give audiovisual presentations on the plan every half hour and there will also be exhibits on the proposed “preferred alignment” for the roadway. Staff will be on hand to answer questions and residents will also have the opportunity to provide written or oral comments.

The Route 45 plan calls for widening the 4.5-mile stretch of the highway to four lanes, with either a barrier or painted median, adding turning lanes and modernizing traffic signals, replacing eight box culverts along the route as well as the bridge over Indian Creek, according to Murphy. The estimated cost of construction for the project is $60 million.

“It meets several needs, one of them is capacity and another is safety,” she said. “There’s an accident history there that we need to address.”

IDOT is nearing completion of its Phase 1 engineering work on the project and will soon be starting Phase 2, which will include more detailed plans and land acquisition. Although the state currently has funding in its multi-year program for Phase 2 work, there is not yet any construction funding for the Route 45 project. IDOT officials say it will likely be at least three to four years before construction could begin.

“There are still a number of steps ahead prior to moving ahead with construction and widening of the roadway,” said David Brown, village engineer and director of public works for Vernon Hills.

Brown said IDOT has made several modifications to its original roadway plan based on feedback from residents along the route and village officials.

Brown said one of the major changes to the plan was the elimination of a proposed boulevard median in the area of Centennial Crossings and Stone Fence Farms subdivisions.

Individuals unable to attend the public hearing but would like to comment can do so on-line at US45@transystems.com or can send written comments to Kimberly Murphy, IDOT Bureau of Programming, 201 W. Center Court, Schaumburg, IL 60196.