August 17, 2020
See the Lake County Transportation Improvements Programmed for Next 5 Years
Lake County’s 2020-2025 Proposed Transportation Improvement Program is now available. This program is annually created by the Lake County Division of Transportation (LCDOT) to show the projects that are currently programmed over the next five years.
View our interactive dashboard and the complete 2020-2025 Transportation Improvement Program to see the projects LCDOT will be working on over the next several years.
About the Program
Called the Highway Improvement Program in previous years, we renamed the program this year to be the "Transportation" Improvement Program. We did this because our focus is beyond just improving and widening roads. We build bike paths and bike lanes, make improvements to traffic signals to reduce the time you spend at red lights, analyze traffic data to implement solutions to make our transportation system safer, and much more.
We break our projects down into four categories: preservation, modernization, non-motorized and expansion. Preservation projects, which are our top priority, keep county highway pavements, bridges, bikeways and signals in good condition. Modernization projects focus on reducing delays and increasing safety. Non-motorized projects add bike paths and bike-friendly shoulders, and fill sidewalk gaps. Expansion projects typically add lanes to a road or build an entirely new road.
Notable projects programmed over the next five years include:
"The Lake County Board places a high priority on improving transportation infrastructure and is committed to investing towards a more efficient and safer County highway system," said Bill Durkin, Chair of the Lake County Board's Public Works, Planning and Transportation Committee. "Residents will see improved roads and more bike path and sidewalk connections, and will spend less time at traffic lights because of the work that is programmed over the next five years."
NEW for 2020: The 2020-2025 program incorporates new funding revenue from the Rebuild Illinois capital bill. Signed into law in 2019, the bill is projected to increase Lake County's annual share of motor fuel tax revenue from the state by 68 percent, and will provide Lake County nearly $24 million in transportation bond proceeds from 2020-2022. This money has been committed to help fund large projects such as the reconstruction of Arlington Heights Road, the widening and railroad grade separation at Quentin Road and Old McHenry Road, and intersection improvements at Hunt Club Road and Washington St.
“Funding from the Rebuild Illinois plan is going straight to critical infrastructure projects in Lake County that would have taken a long time to come to fruition," said Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart. "These projects will improve the quality of life for our residents by reducing the time they spend in traffic and also will create new jobs for people during these difficult times."
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COVID-19 Impacts
The 2020 - 2025 Transportation Improvement Program was developed during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Negative impacts on local transportation revenue are expected over at least the next 18 months. There is much uncertainty surrounding the amount of revenue decreases that will be experienced, and questions remain if any state or federal recovery funds will be made available to assist local agencies with these shortfalls.
"This program assumes status quo funding as if the pandemic and economic downturn were not occurring," said Shane Schneider, LCDOT Director. "This approach ensures that priority projects are identified in the program and are advancing towards construction should additional stimulus funding be made available. If no additional recovery funding is made available to offset revenue losses, some projects will need to be delayed for a construction season or longer."
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