Tollway exit at Gurnee to be reworked
Construction at an often tinkered with interchange will take place during the summer of 2017.
Traffic waiting to exit the northbound Tri-State Tollway in Gurnee often backs up, particularly in the summer when visitors flock to the Great America theme park and other village attractions. The interchange was reworked in 2015, but the $19.4m renovation did not solve the problem. An accident in September 2016 involved seven vehicles, and one two months later involved four. Since then, state officials have agreed to rework the Gurnee interchange again.
Critics contend that since there is only one lane to the westbound ramp, traffic jams are inevitable despite the earlier improvements. After studying the situation, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority agreed, and will work on the westbound exit to Grand Avenue this summer.
According to Dan Rozek, a spokesman for the tollway, a barrier wall will be extended to help traffic flow smoothly to both exits to Grand Avenue. The wall will stop drivers from cutting in line and blocking traffic.
Kristina Kovarik, Gurnee's mayor, seems happy with the decision to do more work on the interchange, noting that the problem is not the ramp, which she and 40,000 others use every day, but the drivers who cut across traffic.
Projects like this can benefit if officials work with a flyer printing company to create material to mail to residents, giving a timetable for work and suggesting alternate routes.
Traffic waiting to exit the northbound Tri-State Tollway in Gurnee often backs up, particularly in the summer when visitors flock to the Great America theme park and other village attractions. The interchange was reworked in 2015, but the $19.4m renovation did not solve the problem. An accident in September 2016 involved seven vehicles, and one two months later involved four. Since then, state officials have agreed to rework the Gurnee interchange again.
Critics contend that since there is only one lane to the westbound ramp, traffic jams are inevitable despite the earlier improvements. After studying the situation, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority agreed, and will work on the westbound exit to Grand Avenue this summer.
According to Dan Rozek, a spokesman for the tollway, a barrier wall will be extended to help traffic flow smoothly to both exits to Grand Avenue. The wall will stop drivers from cutting in line and blocking traffic.
Kristina Kovarik, Gurnee's mayor, seems happy with the decision to do more work on the interchange, noting that the problem is not the ramp, which she and 40,000 others use every day, but the drivers who cut across traffic.
Projects like this can benefit if officials work with a flyer printing company to create material to mail to residents, giving a timetable for work and suggesting alternate routes.