Algonquin to spend $800,000 on roadway improvements along Stonegate Road, Bunker Hill Drive

The village of Algonquin took the first steps to address two of its roads that are in particularly bad condition, Stonegate Road and Bunker Hill Drive.

Fixing up those two roads has been on the village’s radar for a while, Algonquin Public Works Director Bob Mitchard said.

Bunker Hill saw seasonal issues with frost exacerbate what Mitchard described as a “washboard” ripple effect on the road, while portions of Stonegate show “alligator cracking,” he said. That’s when the material below the asphalt doesn’t adequately support the roadway, causing it to break apart in a scale-like pattern.

While the cost for fixing those two roads could exceed $3.5 million, the village could get federal assistance later this year through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Surface Transportation Program.

That program works only if municipalities agree to a 20% funding match, with the federal funds covering either 80% or a maximum of $1.5 million for each project.

The Village Board approved its 20% funding contribution to those projects at its March 15 meeting, and submitted its application for the federal dollars on later that week.

“It makes sense for us to send in the applications with new federal money flowing around,” Mitchard said, referencing a recent appropriations bill and the infrastructure legislative that passed last year.

The Stonegate and Bunker Hill improvements are expected to cost the village $445,000 and $420,000, respectively.

Algonquin was one of several dozen municipalities to have taken part in the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s Pavement Management Program. The agency’s report on Algonquin’s roads was published at the end of last year.

That analysis includes ratings for over 130 miles of village road using the Pavement Condition Index. The ratings range from “good”, nearing 100, to “serious” or “failed” nearing zero, or what Mitchard described as being like “completely back to gravel.”

Some of the common ways roads deteriorate is through weather, larger vehicles like buses, or heavy traffic.

Mitchard said the general goal is to keep most roads in the mid-70s via that metric.

Although the roadways are rated in sections, many portions of both Stonegate Road and Bunker Hill Drive range from “very poor” down to “serious” or even “failed.”

Other road infrastructure projects eyed by Algonquin include rehabbing roadways within the High Hill Farms subdivision, which could cost $3.5 million and will be paid for using street improvement funds, Mitchard said.

The village also submitted federal grant applications for roadway improvements on Boyer Road and County Line Road, which combined would cost $4.5 million. If the projects are approved by the McHenry County Council of Mayors, the Village Board will have to approve its 20% funding contribution this spring or summer, Mitchard said.

The Council of Mayors will consider the projects for a five-year funding plan by mid-May, Mitchard said, after which construction plans can move forward.