McHenry County drivers will soon be seeing “roadwork ahead” signs on a handful of county roads.
The McHenry County Division of Transportation announced in a news release Thursday that repaving work is set to kick off in early May on Bay Road near Johnsburg, from Chapel Hill Road to the Lake County line; Hartland Road west of Woodstock, from Nelson Road to U.S. Route 14; and Spring Grove Road from Johnsburg Road in Johnsburg to Route 12 in Spring Grove.
The construction is part of the county’s pavement preservation program. The county expects the paving work will wrap up in September, contingent on weather.
The county will resurface 15.3 lane miles of county roads, according to the release. The project’s cost is $5.9 million, of which $3.9 million of the project is being funded through motor fuel tax dollars and $2 million by Regional Transit Authority sales tax dollars, according to county documents.
Lake Bluff-based Peter Baker & Son will be doing the construction, McHenry County Division of Transportation Public Information Officer Christopher Grask said.
The McHenry County Board officially awarded the bid to Peter Baker & Son earlier this week, with the bid amount coming in at just over $5.4 million. The discrepancy between the $5.4 million bid and $5.9 million price tag is “is a contingency measure put in place in case the project runs longer than expected or requires additional improvements along the roadway,” Grask wrote in an email to the Northwest Herald.
“Please note access to residences and businesses will be maintained through construction. Travelers are to pay close attention to flaggers and signs in the work zones, obey posted speed limits and be vigilant for workers and equipment,” according to the release.
Grask added this week is National Work Zone Awareness Week and urged people to not text and drive in construction zones, reminding people construction workers are human beings who need to go home to their families.