Palatine Road Construction Open House March 23

The Palatine Road construction project could resume as early as April 1 with traffic again being reduced to one lane on the downtown thoroughfare.

Village officials are hosting an open house Wednesday, March 23 in anticipation of the project continuing. The open house will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 200 E. Wood St. and will give residents a chance to ask detailed questions about the project.

Last year Palatine Road was closed to one lane from Route 14 to Plum Grove Road and only open east bound for several months. Palatine Director of Public Works Matt Barry said this year Palatine Road will be reduced to one lane in the same area, but the road will be open west bound.

"That certainly will be the most noticeable change," Barry said, adding that the closure is supposed to last for about two months. Barry said the entire project should be completed by June 1, weather permitting.

Barry said another closure will involve Greeley Street. He said there will be two five day periods – the first likely being toward the end of April – in which there will be no left turns to or from Greeley at Palatine Road.

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

Aside from reconstructing and widening much of Palatine Road through downtown, the project also involved the reconstruction and reconfiguration of railroad crossings at Palatine Road and Plum Grove Road and the addition of turn lanes at various intersections along Palatine Road.

The total cost of the project – engineering, railroad work, roadway construction – is expected to be about $9.4 million. Of that, Palatine is paying about $2.152 million.

About $5.178 million is from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly known as the federal stimulus program. The remaining cost is being paid for through various federal grant programs.