Prep Work Starts on Route 47 Interchange Project

Crews will be out on Interstate 90 today doing prep work for the Route 47 interchange project, Illinois Tollway officials said Wednesday.

Concrete work will be done on the I-90 median shoulder to create a protected work zone, according to a Tollway release. Traffic will be impacted beginning overnight Monday, June 18 as lanes will be closed to install barrier walls on the inside and outside in both directions.

Actual construction will begin on the bridge at Route 47 spanning I-90 by mid-week.

Work on Route 47 is set to begin later in the month. A work zone will also be put in place and local traffic will continue to have one lane open in both directions during construction, according to the release.

The is being built in partnership with the Village of Huntley, Kane County, McHenry County and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) as part of the Tollway’s $12 billion capital program, Move Illinois: The Illinois Tollway Driving the Future. The interchange project’s completion date is summer 2013.

Initial work on the project also includes tree removal and the start of utility relocations in the coming weeks to prepare for construction of six new ramps.

The six ramps will be all-electronic toll collection, which will provide full access between I-90 and Route 47. Existing ramps providing access for drivers traveling to and from the east on I-90 will remain open to provide access throughout the project.

The project includes:

• reconstruction and widening of 1.5 miles of Route 47 from south of Manning Road to north of Jim Dhamer Drive and Freeman Road.

• new traffic signals at the intersection of Route 47 with Jim Dhamer Drive and Freeman Road.

• two new signalized intersections at the westbound exit ramp to northbound Route 47 and eastbound exit ramp to northbound and southbound Route 47.