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Construction to widen Randall Road to three lanes from McHenry Avenue in Crystal Lake south to Polaris Drive/Acorn Lane in Lake in the Hills is about to begin. Here’s what you need to know.
What’s happening?
Starting the first week of March, drivers at the Randall Road/Miller Road intersection in Lake in the Hills will see a visual reminder of the roadwork ahead – a new temporary traffic light that’s being installed, according to a McHenry County website about the project, randallroad.info.
The following week, March 10, “contractors will start removing medians north of Acorn/Polaris to Miller Road to prepare for temporary pavement installation. Temporary lane closures may be in place during construction,” according to the county website. Drivers should drive carefully and stay alert in the work zone, according to the county. In addition to the south end of the project, medians will be removed on the north end of the project in the next few weeks, Jeremy Stull, the construction manager for the project, said.
A temporary light will also be installed at the Alexandra Boulevard intersection in Crystal Lake. Once the Randall Road construction is complete, a permanent light will be installed at Alexandra Boulevard. Once the roadwork is complete, there will no longer be a left turn option from Randall onto Village Road.
Some other things happening as part of the project:
- A new sidewalk is going in on the west side of Randall Road and a multi-use path on the east side of Randall.
- Miller Road will have one left-turn lane, one through lane and one right-turn lane in both directions at the Randall Road intersection.
- A new concrete noise barrier will be installed on the east side of Randall Road between Woods Creek and Miller Road and Miller Road to Roosevelt Street.
What’s the timeline?
The temporary light at Miller and Randall is going up next week. Construction on the northern portion of Randall is expected to wrap up in 2027.
This spring and summer, work will focus on utility relocation and the temporary lights, according to the website.
Stage 1 of the Randall Road project, which was the southern portion of the corridor in McHenry County, was completed in 2021.
How expensive is it?
The county got a bid from Plote Construction Inc./Dunnet Bay Construction Joint Venture for about $63.5 million. Federal funds cover about 80% of the cost and the county’s RTA sales tax makes up the remaining 20%, according to the website. The county has been saving up for the project for years to pay for its share.
Where can I find more information about the project?
The county has a website for the project, randallroad.info. People can go there for updates about the project; the website also features an FAQ page and a contact form where people can submit comments, ask questions and sign up to receive email updates about the project.