The McHenry County Highway Department expects the widening of Algonquin Road from Illinois Highway 31 to the Algonquin post office to begin later this month.
At a meeting of the county board’s transportation committee Thursday in Woodstock, County Highway Department Engineer Mike Magnuson said work on widening Algonquin Road to five lanes could last until the fall of 1998. The project is expected to cost $2.98 million.
Magnuson said the widening is the first phase of a project that eventually will extend five lanes past the post office to Randall Road.
Construction on the second leg of the widening has no firm start date, officials said. It could begin next year or as late as 2001, depending on funding and other traffic priorities.
Magnuson said the widening will feature two through-lanes in each direction and dual left-turn lanes at all four legs of the intersection of Algonquin and Randall Roads.
The Village of Algonquin also will get traffic signals along Randall at Acorn Lane, Huntington Drive and Algonquin Road. Home Towne Electric of Lake Villa won the contract to install the lights with a bid of $291,691. Work may begin in late summer.
The transportation committee approved resurfacing projects covering 13.9 miles of roads at 12 locations throughout the county. Magnuson said the estimated cost of the resurfacing is $776,000.
The largest resurfacing will be Greenwood Road south of the Village of Greenwood from Illinois Highway 120 to Wondermere Road and from just north of the village to Tryon Grove Road, a total distance of about 4 1/2 miles.
About 2 1/2 miles of Kishwaukee Valley Road near Woodstock, from near Sullivan Road to Hobe Road, also will be resurfaced.
Other highways to be resurfaced include Walkup Road south of McHenry; Harmony Road south of Marengo; McGuire Road east of Harvard and Country Club Road near Ridgefield.
The county will pave another 2.15 miles of private roads in Richmond, Grafton and Nunda Townships for $120,000. Once paved, though, the roads will become public.
