Repaving Route 14 in Crystal Lake to begin this month

Work on Route 14 in Crystal Lake is expected to begin as soon as April 18, after the Illinois Department of Transportation met Thursday with city officials to outline details of the project.

The improvements include adding sidewalk ramps to better accommodate those with disabilities and repaving the stretch of roadway from Crystal Lake Avenue to Pingree Road.

The project is expected to cost $3.47 million, but will be fully funded through the Illinois Department of Transportation and so the money will not come from the city’s budget, city officials said.

The city’s goal now is to get the word out to residents and businesses so they could prepare for the upcoming adjustments, Public Works Director Mike Magnuson said.

The project will require periodic lane closures and, later one, complete closure of the road in sections, Magnuson said.

“People will have to be patient while they are getting this done,” Magnuson said. “It’s road construction. That’s always going to be disruptive. Asphalt doesn’t last forever.”

Linda Anderson, owner of Julie Ann’s Frozen Custard along Route 14, said she was concerned any impact on customer traffic would exacerbate issues local businesses are experiencing related to supply chain shortages and price hikes.

“Less customers will be really hard on us,” Anderson said. “Everything is going up so much: dairy mix, paper goods, raspberries. There’s more.”

The last time major construction on Rouge 14 impacted the business was more than 20 years ago, when Julie Anne’s was located closer to the Route 14 and Route 31 intersection, Anderson said.

“I don’t know how this will affect us,” Anderson said, “but there are not many ways to get through Crystal Lake other than Route 14 and Crystal Lake Avenue. Spring and early summer is our busiest time for the ice cream business, so it would be nice to hear from the city personally.”

Breaking Bread Catering and Deli, located in a plaza at the intersection of Route 14 and Keith Avenue, has options like DoorDash and delivery that could mitigate some concerns about the street closure’s impact, manager Bree Tesch said.

“This will probably affect us,” Tesch said, “but the city has always notified any time they are working on the parking lot, and we’re able to work around it so it doesn’t affect us.”

Liz Bednarczyk, owner of the Vine and Plate wine bar, also described the city as “nothing but helpful” and seemed confident that if the restaurant could survive the pandemic, it would be able to weather traffic issues.

“It’s a matter of being resourceful,” Bednarczyk said. “Maybe we’ll have a road construction special on the menu.”

Bednarczyk said the restaurant, which opened in August 2020, had experienced only eight months of “normal” business circumstances out of 20.

IDOT officials told the city Thursday that its goal is to identify where along their roadways they need to resurface before the road fails and becomes a hazard that is much more costly and destructive, Magnuson said.

Magnuson said the city “works very well” with IDOT and that coordination between the agency and the city was good. IDOT informed the city earlier during the pandemic that they’d be working on Route 14 this year, Magnuson said.

IDOT told the city the ramp additions could take eight to 10 weeks and then another four to six weeks for the repaving operation, which will require adjusting all the manholes and their metal frames along that stretch.

The goal is to finish paving work between Crystal Lake Avenue and Dole Avenue by July 4 so as not to disrupt that weekend’s parade plans or the Dole’s Lakeside Festival, which begins June 30, Magnuson said.

“City staff understands the importance of communication with the local businesses and has expressed this importance to IDOT and the contractor,” the city said a City Council memo ahead of Tuesday’s meeting.

Next week, the city will deliver postcards to businesses along the affected route and will keep residents informed of the situation, Magnuson said.

Between 2014 and 2016, the state completed road improvements, including lane widening, along a 6-mile stretch of Route 14 between West Lake Shore Drive in Woodstock, to Crystal Lake Avenue. The project this year represents a continuation moving east of that work, Magnuson said.

The IDOT also cleaned and painted a bridge along Route 14 in Fox River Grove last year.