Road Construction at Virginia Street Road and Route 31 Begins Today

A press release from McHenry County:

Illinois Route 31 @ Virginia Road/Klasen Road Widening and Reconstruction Improvement begins April 16, 2012

Looking north on Route 31 at the Klasen Road intersection. Note the pre-primary election campaign signs. One wonders if campaigning is allowed on a web site such as this.

Algonquin-Lake in the Hill-Cary, IL – The McHenry County Division of Transportation is announcing that roadway construction on Illinois Route 31 at Virginia Road/Klasen Road will begin with preliminary work the week of April 16th.

Full reconstruction work with staged traffic control will begin in early May.

For the first stage of construction, one travel lane in each direction will be open for motorists on the existing west side of Illinois Route 31 while the new northbound lanes are constructed.

Virginia Street Road used to almost meet Route 31 right across from Klasen Road as you can see from the tree line in the aerial photo below. It was re-configured to make it safer.

The second stage will shift traffic onto the new northbound lanes while the southbound lanes are then built.

The third stage will see traffic traveling on the outside of the new lanes as the median work is accomplished.

You can see the Virginia Street Road intersection with Route 31 from the north here.

All work is anticipated to be completed in the Spring of 2013.

Here's the plan for the project. Click to enlarge.

The improvements for Illinois Route 31 @ Virginia Road/Klasen Road Widening and Reconstruction include:

  • Illinois Route 31 will be widened and reconstructed to provide 2 through lanes in each direction and dedicated left and right turn lanes at the Virginia Road and Klasen Road intersections.
  • Realignment of the Virginia Road intersection to the north to improve safety
  • New turn lanes on Virginia Road and Klasen Road at their intersections with Illinois Route 31
  • Modernized traffic signals at both the Klasen Road and Virginia Road intersections

This approximately $8,500,000 improvement project is being funded in part by the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Transportation Bill SAFETEA-LU.

A large new pipe was laid along Route 31 next to the gravel pit on the east side of the road where the last man in McHenry County to use horses, instead of a tractor, farmed.

Utility relocation work is underway now and will wrap up as the roadway work gets started.

A construction informational meeting will be held this Spring to outline the project in greater detail and inform local residents and business owners of the construction schedule, plans, and how they can stay informed during construction.

Visit the project website at www.IL31Virginia.com, for project information and to sign up to receive emails for the latest project updates.
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Discovered later is that the project will cost approximately $8,500,000 and is being paid for by the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Transportation Bill SAFETEA-LU.
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Images are from the web site above.  Civiltech Engineering is in charge of the project.


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