What’s New for Willow Road?

For June 17 to June 28

At the June 12, 2013 Willow Road coordination meeting, IDOT and Lorig Construction provided their proposed construction schedule for the next two weeks. 

•  The Bristol Street detour will remain in effect for work at the bridge.  Vehicles can access Bristol from the south but do not have access to Willow Road.  The public parking spaces in the area will remain available.         
• The Phase I work has been started west of Sunset Ridge Road and is expected to continue throughout the summer.  The lane closures and traffic patterns for this work are in effect including those for Waukegan Road.
•  The Pre-stage work west of Sunset Ridge Road will continue and it includes the installation of temporary pavement along the corridor, a new water main, and the retaining wall and drainage structures near the bridge.  The lane closures for this work are already in place.
•  The temporary traffic signal installations will continue on the east end of the project in the downtown area.  Additional, short term, lane closures may be needed for portions of this work.
• Utility work also continues throughout the corridor with Nicor working on the south side of the roadway between Sunset Ridge and Wagner; AT&T is relocating their facilities to the new poles and finishing their temporary fiber relocations; and ComEd will be removing the older poles once they are cleared of all wires.    Additional, short term, lane closures may be needed for portions of this work.  

 

More detailed construction work and traffic conditions can be tracked at http://northfieldwillowroad.blogspot.com/ ; through Facebook at Willow Road Construction Project; or through Twitter at @willowroadcp.   

 

Please note that the actual start dates and activities may change due to weather, utility issues, permitting approvals, or other contractor conflicts.   #willowroadcp

Waukegan Lane Changes

On Wednesday, June 12 traffic lane changes are planned on Waukegan Road at the Willow Road intersection. The morning rush hour is not anticipated to be impacted, but the changes will likely be in place by the end of the day. Motorists should expect delays.

Features of the New Willow Road

With construction under way, many people are already looking forward to completion and want to know more about the new Willow Road. Here are some details.

The final roadway was designed and is being constructed by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT).  Prior to moving forward with construction, IDOT took the roadway through a two-year Community Advisory Group (CAG) process to get input on the overall design from the towns of Northfield, Northbrook, Glenview and Winnetka. Many options were studied, but, in the end, IDOT elected to construct a road that consists of two eastbound travel lanes, two westbound travel lanes, with left-hand turn lanes at the intersections.    The roadway will also contain the following enhancements that were recommended by the CAG members:

• 10 feet wide travel lanes
•  30 m.p.h. speed limit
•  Planted medians with enhanced gateway plantings
•  6 feet wide sidewalks on both sides of the street
•  Pedestrian crossing features:
      Extra wide crosswalks
      Pushbutton countdown pedestrian signal
      Center refuge medians
      Lighted intersections
      Corner  planting
          Mid-block pedestrian park crossing at Clarkson Park
• Parkway trees every 30 to 40 feet
• Decorative stone bridge and retaining wall
• 7 feet wide sidewalk over the Eden’s Bridge
• Brick paver sidewalks and decorative lighting in the downtown
•  Decorative combined signal and lighting poles at the intersections
• A large storm water system under the roadway

To follow the progress of the work and monitor traffic conditions, stay tuned to http://northfieldwillowroad.blogspot.com/ on Facebook at Willow Road Construction Project or Twitter @willowroadcp.