Lowell Park Road to close between Edgewood, Penn Corner for intersection improvements

A portion of a popular two-lane road between Lee and Ogle counties will be closed for several months for a $1 million improvement project.

Lowell Park Road, between Edgewood Road and Penn Corner Road, is expected to be closed this week, Ogle County highway engineer Jeremy Ciesiel said.

“It is anticipated that the closure will remain in place until mid-October,” Ciesiel said. “A marked detour will be posted directing traffic around the closure.”

Work will include replacing a reinforced concrete box culvert in addition to widening the intersection with Penn Corner Road and the installation of a storm sewer.

“The road will be lowered, a retaining wall will be built, and roughly ¼ mile of pavement will be reconstructed,” Ciesiel said.

Ciesiel said the highway department examined the conditions of all the culverts along Lowell Park Road in 2021 between the Lee County line north to Pines Road.

“The purpose of the review was to ascertain which structures needed to be replaced or extended ahead of the road being resurfaced,” Ciesiel said. “As a result of this investigation, it was determined that issues at 14 crossroad structures needed to be addressed. Of these, 13 were smaller, shallow structures that were easily accessible. However, the 14th structure was a larger, deeper box culvert just south of Penn Corner Road.

“It was decided to perform the culvert work at the 13 accessible locations, and gap the pavement resurfacing project near Penn Corner Road.”

The project to improve the 13 culverts took place in 2022, and the road resurfacing took place in 2023, Ciesiel said. During the resurfacing project, the quarter-mile near Penn Corner Road was omitted.

“During the analysis of the larger structure, it was determined that replacement was the only option,” Ciesiel said. “The new structure will be longer than the existing structure in order to allow for a safer, more manageable slope adjacent to the road. This will also allow for the removal of the existing guardrail system. Given the size and depth of the culvert, it is necessary to close Lowell Park Road. Since the road will be closed, it was decided to address deficiencies at the intersection of Lowell Park Road and Penn Corner Road during the closure.”

That phase of the project will include lowering Lowell Park Road to give motorists more of a view of oncoming traffic as they pull onto Lowell Park Road from Penn Corner Road.

“In order to improve sight distance at the intersection, the hill south of the intersection will be lowered up to 5 feet,” Ciesiel said. “Due to the presence of a cemetery along the west side of the road, a retaining wall will need to be built so as to not disturb the plots during this lowering. The intersection will be enlarged slightly to assist in turning movements, and new storm sewer will be placed to better convey water runoff.”

Ogle County Board member Lyle Hopkins of Polo said reducing the level of the road by the intersection should make it safer for motorists entering Lowell Park Road from Penn Corner Road.

“They will take that hill down, and that should make it safer,” said Hopkins, who is a member of the County Board’s Road and Bridge Committee and lives on Penn Corner Road.

“Finally, the ¼ mile of roadway that was gapped during the 2023 resurfacing project will be paved and will include a new paved shoulder,” Ciesiel said.

The project went out for bid in April, with Martin & Co. Excavating of Oregon submitting the lowest bid at almost $1.33 million.

The Ogle County Board approved that bid at its May 20 meeting. Hopkins said $600,000 will come from the county’s motor fuel tax fund, $300,000 from the federal aid matching fund and $430,000 from the county aid to bridge fund.

Construction was scheduled to begin Monday, June 2, and will last into October.