Lake-Cook Road Repaving Begins in Early April

South Lake County commuters can expect plenty of traffic tie-ups when they experience reconstruction of busy Lake-Cook Road beginning in early April.

The $6 million project to patch pavement and repair potholes and infrastructure between Wilmot and Pfingsten Roads in Deerfield is expected to kick off this year’s Lake County construction season. It will continue until the summer of 2012.

The project will be managed by the Cook County Highway Department.

Work will include repair and upgrading of traffic signals, water mains, sewer lines, and manhole rehabilitation along the route.

“The replacement of the Deerfield water main system in this area will include new valves, hydrants, and several new service connections to office properties along Lake-Cook Road,” engineers indicated.

Intermittent lane closures and periodic blockages will take place throughout the summer along the one-mile stretch as construction personnel apply a new surface to the busy roadbed that serves 40,000 vehicles daily.

Another major project underway in Deerfield is construction of a $2 million pedestrian underpass on Deerfield Road, a major east-west arterial, at the Metra station tracks that serve the Milwaukee North Line and Amtrak.

Major funding is coming from state and federal transportation grants funds, with the Village of Deerfield providing 20 percent in matching funds.

The underpass will provide safe passage for Metra commuters, pedestrians, and bicyclists who use the east-west Highland Park-Riverwoods bike path that taps into the north-south Des Plaines River Trail.

“This underpass will be an important addition in the multi-use pedestrian-bike path network in Lake County,” Robert Phillips, Deerfield’s assistant engineer, indicated.

He said it would be located on the south side of the Deerfield Road trestle, beneath the Metra tracks, where a 10-foot wide, 9-foot high underpass is being built by the Herlihy Mid-Continent Co. It will accommodate both bikes. pedestrians, and Metra commuters boarding at the Deerfield train station.

Daily road closures on Deerfield Road will continue occasionally while work is underway. Closures typically begin at 9 a.m. daily during the workweek and finish by 3 p.m. Commute drivers are urged to use alternate routes around the construction.