Nearly two miles of new sewer piping will line the construction route along Miller and Bull Valley roads.

Motorists traveling on the outskirts of south Mc Henry should be advised that construction work is underway to widen and improve Charles J. Miller and Bull Valley roads to their mid-point intersection with Route 31. The third phase, covering approximately 2.4 miles, will stop in Nov. and conclude next year.

The overall project with the Mc Henry County Division of Transportation is overseeing the project, which carries an estimated $17.3 million price tag. The improvements near the intersection of River and Miller roads and extending to the Union Pacific railroad tracks on Bull Valley Road was initially undertaken in 2012 to relieve poor traffic flow.

“Mc Henry County has the lead on the project, and there is federal and state funding involved in rounding out the financing,” said Jim Werner, the county DOT’s Project Manager. “A lot about this project had its origins in the traffic congestion along the route, from River Road to Bull Valley Road, with single lane traffic.

This aerial site map shows the construction with the completed area highlighted in blue, and the ongoing work in orange heading west.

“We added another bridge, alongside the existing one, making it two lanes in both directions, and the feedback that we’ve received so far has been very positive and encouraging,” he said. “It opened at the end of 2013, and that has helped considerably.”

The bridge, spanning the Fox River, saw the addition of two left turn lanes at its east end onto River Road. The intersection was enlarged to four lanes for less vehicle congestion at peak times.

The connector street between Old Bull Valley and Miller roads, west of Green Street in Mc Henry, will be permanently closed for work crews. Excavation for temporary pavement, abetted by erosion control fencing, began May 18. Temporary signal work also took place, and traffic delays are expected with flaggers for daily lane closures and flow shifts.

Excavation has already taken place for temporary pavement to be placed for traffic while construction takes place.

Specifically, the 2015 roadway work is anticipated to be substantially complete by the late fall encompassing Bull Valley Road from the Union Pacific-Metra railroad tracks east to the previously widened portion of Miller Road, as well as its intersection with Green Street. Route 31 construction work gird north of Shamrock Lane to Knox Drive.

The Illinois Department of Transportation handled the bid letting process for the project and the Chicago-based firm of Bollinger, Lach, and Associates, Inc. was named as the contractor for the roadway improvement project.

”I was there for the letting on the job bid process, and once that was completed, “The work on this third phase has begun, will continue through Nov., and pick up again next summer with some landscaping and incidental work,” said Laird Hagmann, IDOT’s Lake and Mc Henry county engineer. “I was there for the job letting process and once that was completed, everything took off.”

Another ingredient in the mix concerns a bike path for recreational use that mirrors the roadway route. The design plan allots for the bike path to follow the south side of Miller Road, west to Green Street and Barreville Road intersection, where it will cross Miller Road to its north easement and continue to Route 31.

Work crews remove the top layers of roadbed at Route 31 and Bank Drive.

Tree removal and storm sewer installation commenced in late 2014, allowing time for utility relocations to take place over the winter and move out of the road construction area. Some electrical and telephone service interruptions were reported to county departments, at the time.

“Overall, the feedback on all of this has been really positive,” said Werner. “As a result, we know things are moving forward in the right direction, and will achieve the result of improving vehicle traffic patterns during use at peak morning and evening times.”