Fairfield and Gilmer Road Intersection to Close this Summer

This is a painful post to write since I commute this way to my day job! Here is a great link to the project web page at Lake County Department of Transportation

Lake County travelers who use Fairfield and Gilmer roads near the Village of Wauconda are likely familiar with the traffic jams at this intersection. The Lake County Division of Transportation (DOT) is embarking on an intersection reconstruction project that will ease congestion in this area long-term. However, Lake County asks for residents’ patience during the short-term.

DOT will close the intersection of Fairfield and Gilmer Roads, near the Village of Wauconda, from May 15 through September 15. In an effort to limit the impact on motorists, Lake County is doing this project during the summer months, when school is out of session, and requiring the contractor to work an accelerated and strict schedule. DOT will place supplemental signage near the intersection to raise awareness in advance of the commencement of the project. DOT staff will also hand-deliver informational flyers to motorists in the days leading up to the closure. “Extraordinary measures have been taken on this project to limit the impact on motorists that use this intersection,” Marty Buehler, Lake County Director of Transportation/County Engineer said. “Every effort is being made to complete this construction as quickly as possible so that users can enjoy the benefits of the completed improvement.”

When the project is complete, this intersection will be an overpass allowing Gilmer Road to pass over Fairfield Road. Traffic passing through the intersection will flow freely without having to slow or stop at the intersection as would be necessary with a conventional traffic signal. A connecting road will be constructed between the north leg of Fairfield Road and the west leg of Gilmer Road to allow traffic to travel between Gilmer Road and Fairfield Road.

The intersection will be closed until August 15. Beginning on August 15, Fairfield Road, the west leg of Gilmer Road and the connecting road will be open to traffic. The east leg of Gilmer Road will open to traffic on September 15. Motorists can visit www.lakegov.info/roadwork to learn more about this project, view maps, updates, and detour information.

There will be two detour routes for this project; the Fairfield Road detour will be Illinois Route 60, to Illinois Route 120, Belvidere Road, to U.S. Route 12, Rand Road, to Bonner Road (see map above). The Gilmer Road detour will be Illinois Route 120, Belvidere Road, to Illinois Route 60, to Illinois Route 176.