McHenry to launch largest road resurfacing program in city’s history

McHenry will start the largest road resurfacing program in the city’s history this week, which will see more than $4 million in work done across about 11 miles of road, officials said.

The work, which starts Sunday, will cover 38 roads in town, with most being roads that route through neighborhoods, Director of Public Works Troy Strange said.

The work is expected to take two to three months, with officials hopeful it will wrap up at the end of June.

Some of the busiest roads that will see work are Prairie Avenue, Willow Lane, Martin Road, Blake Boulevard and Kane Avenue, Strange said.

Martin Road, which intersects with Route 120, sees about 1,900 vehicles a day near the intersection, according to traffic counts from the Illinois Department of Transportation. Kane sees about 625 vehicles, the data shows.

Counts for Prairie, Willow and Blake were not immediately available, Strange said.

Other roads affected include Allen Avenue, Birch Lane, Bradley Court, Chasefield Circle, Cherryhill Court, Corporate Drive, Creekside Trail, Dayton Street, Drak Court, Gladstone Drive, Grove Avenue, Hampton Court, Hanley Street, Hill Street, Lake Street, Lauren Court, Logan Street, Millstream Drive, Pine Drive, Pleasant Avenue, Prestwick Street, Pyndale Drive, Riverstream Drive, Shorehill Drive, Stillhill Drive, Sunset Avenue, Timber Trail, Tustamena Trail, Vine Street, West Vista Terrace, Walnut Lane, Wellington Drive and Woodridge Trail, according to a construction notice and map of affected roads.

The work will include removing the asphalt and then placing two new layers of asphalt, taking about 20 days for the two layers. Pavement markings and then cleanup will follow, with each expected to take about five days, according to the notice.

As part of the work, daytime lane closures resulting in one-way traffic can be expected, Strange said. Roads will have at least one lane open at all times during the work, and side roads and entrances will remain accessible.

The roads are dispersed throughout town, meaning residents can expect several days between work being done, according to the notice. Access to resident driveways will be maintained during the work, which will include small gravel ramps if needed once asphalt has been removed, Strange said.

Parking will not be allowed during the removal and replacement of asphalt, which will be marked with “No parking” signs in advance, according to the notice.

Road infrastructure has been a priority of the city for a while, Mayor Wayne Jett said Thursday. It also was one of the platforms on which he campaigned, he said.

“When I was elected, we had $50 million worth of roads to get done,” he said. “We have made huge strides ... on putting more money toward our roads.”

The total work being done in both expenses and mileage of road covered are new highs for the city, Strange said. The next closest came in 2010, when the city saw about $2.5 million worth of work done on about 10.9 miles.

The city received about $1.8 million from the state’s Rebuild Illinois capital improvement plan, which McHenry will use the remainder of this year, Strange said.

With changes to some of the city’s finances, higher levels of roadwork can be expected in years to come, as well, Strange said.

With the state also having increased the city’s motor fuel tax allotment, combined with some expenditures being moved out of the motor fuel tax fund and a new motor fuel tax within the city, more money will be available to use on roads going forward, Strange said.

In future years, the city should have about $2.3 million on average to use for roads, which comes out to be a little more than the $2 million required for the city to keep up with its road infrastructure, Strange said.

With roadwork taking place all over the city, Jett asked residents to remain patient while the work is carried out.

“We’re all driving on the roads, including city staff, police and myself,” he said. “We all have to be patient for the next couple of months.”