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Peterson Road Corridor Project

February 22nd, 2017

Lake County Division of Transportation

APWA 2017 Lake Branch Project of the Year
APWA 2017 Chicago Metro Chapter Project of the Year
Transportation ($25 Million to $75 Million)

On January 17, 2017, the American Public Works Association’s Lake Branch of the Chicago Metropolitan Chapter presented the Project of the Year Award for Transportation ($25 Million to $75 Million category) to Lake County Division of Transportation (LCDOT) for the Peterson Road Corridor Project.  On March 17, 2017, the Peterson Road Corridor Project will be honored at the chapter level, with consideration for national recognition. The collaboration with stakeholders, innovative pavement marking techniques, and creative solutions to construction staging challenges and geotechnical issues stood out as award worthy to the Lake Branch Awards Committee.

The completion of this project was the culmination of years of planning beginning in the late 1980’s with Lake County’s long range plan.  LCDOT recognizes that an effective transportation system is critical toLCDOT_Peterson Rd_IMG_0068_2 supporting economic growth in the region and providing a safe and efficient transportation system to not only contribute to a comfortable quality of life for the residents of Lake County, but to also helps businesses move goods and services through the county. With this in mind, LCDOT reconstructed and widened Peterson Road in central Lake County.

This project was done in phases, starting in 2014 with widening and reconstructing Peterson Road from IL Route 83 to Franklin Boulevard in the Villages of Libertyville and Grayslake. The next section of Peterson Road, IL Route 83 to west of Alleghany Road, was completed in 2016. In addition to widening this to a four-lane road, the project also includes intersection improvements, resurfacing work, and a bike path.

The local communities, businesses, religious organizations, property owners and the public were included in the public involvement process to result in a successful project.  A highlight of this coordination is evident with the Village of Grayslake for improving the look of the new corridor through median landscaping and focal points.  In addition to the aesthetics, stakeholder collaboration identified two local developers who approached LCDOT about roadway improvements that would be needed for their new businesses.  Rather than adding another construction project after construction of the corridor, the developers paid LCDOT for the cost of additional access improvements for their planned facilities to be included with the roadway construction, ultimately benefitting the traveling public by getting all of the construction done in a timely and efficient manner.

LCDOT went above and beyond current Lake County Stormwater Management Commission’s (LCSMC) guidelines with this project.  Infiltration ditches, rain gardens, native long rooted plant seeds, water quality basins, and compost mixed in the topsoil were all implemented to increase water quality and encourage infiltration which reduces stormwater runoff.

This corridor was a massive undertaking by the County and the project team.  Combined, both segments took 5 years of planning and design, and was constructed in just over 2 years’ time.  Projects of this magnitude can often take much longer, and this was one of LCDOT’s largest ever.  All lanes have been open for over a year now and LCDOT hears voices of gratitude from the public and questions of why weren’t these improvements built sooner.  The increased mobility and reduced congestion has brought economic development knocking on Peterson Road’s door.  With that development comes jobs and growth for the local municipalities, as well as Lake County as a whole.

Martin Worman, PE
Senior Project Manager
Civil Design Department