Palatine Road Construction Slated To Resume In April

The Palatine Road construction project is set to resume in April and should be completed by June 30.

The project fell behind last year because of the Laborers and Operating Engineer's strike which stopped work in 2010 from June 30 to July 23. The project also encountered numerous issues with utility lines.

The Village Council voted to halt the project on Oct. 26, fearing they would not be able to finish much of it before colder temperatures arrived. Rather the village worked to get Palatine Road and the downtown area in a more functional state for the winter, such as getting two-way traffic open on Palatine Road east of the railroad tracks by Nov. 30.

At Monday's Village Council meeting, Palatine Public Works Director Matt Barry laid out plans for the rest of the project.

"Enough work remaining that the months of April, May and June is anticipated to be sufficient to complete the project," Barry said.

From April 1 through May 30, Palatine Road will be down to one way traffic. This year, however, the traffic will be westbound only. East bound traffic will be detoured to Colfax Street via Plum Grove Road and Route 14, Barry said.

During this time frame, there also will be two five to seven day periods where there will be no left turns from or to Palatine Road at Greeley.

Other work on Palatine Road involves traffic signals, landscaping and street lighting.

Palatine Road is being widened and reconstructed from Smith Road to Kerwood Street as part of a $9.5 million project. Plum Grove Road also is being widened and rebuilt between Washington and Slade Streets. Most of the project, about $7.7 million is federally funded. The project also involved the reconstruction of railroad crossings at Palatine Road and Plum Grove Road and the addition of turn lanes at various intersections along Palatine Road.