Additional state road projects to begin in McHenry County

Three road improvement projects in McHenry County are scheduled to get underway beginning this spring as one along Route 20 will continue through this year, the Illinois Department of Transportation announced in a news release.

The four projects represent a total investment of $21 million for the region, made possible by the Rebuild Illinois capital program passed under Gov. JB Pritzker in 2019. Another six projects, on track to cost more than $24 million, also are underway or set to begin in western Lake County.

“With the Rebuild Illinois capital plan, we are restoring and transforming Illinois’s aging infrastructure,” Pritzker said in a news release. “Rebuild Illinois is not only about investing in infrastructure but about investing in people and communities as well. In the coming months, IDOT will undertake projects that will ultimately create safer roads and bridges and provide jobs in McHenry County and across the entire state.”

The McHenry County projects include:

• Construction of a new roundabout at Grant Highway, also Route 20 at that location in Coral Township, and Marengo and Beck roads, along with culvert replacements, pavement widening and intersection improvements on Route 20 at Coral and Union roads.

One lane in each direction will be maintained on Grant Highway during construction, which began last summer and is expected to be completed next fall, according to the release. Beck Road will be closed and traffic detoured.

• The existing bridge that carries Route 47 over the Kishwaukee River south of Woodstock will be replaced. One lane in each direction will be maintained during construction, which is scheduled to begin this spring and completed next fall.

• Route 47 from Price Road in Hebron to north of Ware Road in Woodstock will be resurfaced with new Americans with Disability Act-compliant sidewalk ramps installed, according to the release. Daily lane closures will be needed to complete the project, which is scheduled to begin this summer and completed this fall.

Separately, Route 47 is set to be widened through much of Woodstock in the coming years, with a series of roundabouts to be added on the corridor at Lake Avenue, McConnell Road, Judd Street, Irving Avenue, Ware Road, and Charles Road.

• The intersection of Route 176 at Nish Road, located just west of the Fox River and Holiday Hills, will be widened with new traffic signals installed, according to the release.

One lane in each direction will be maintained during construction, which is scheduled to begin this summer and completed this fall.