Ramp Closures Scheduled Next Week in Gurnee

Submitted by the Illinois Tollway

Ramp reconstruction at Grand Avenue (Illinois Route 132) and the Tri-State Tollway (I-94) in Gurnee is continuing with overnight closures next week, followed by the reopening of the ramp from eastbound I-94 to westbound Grand Avenue and scheduled closure of the ramp from westbound Grand Avenue to westbound I-94 as work on the two-year, $19.4 million Grand Avenue Interchange Project continues.

In 2014, four ramps are being reconstructed including the ramps carrying I-94 traffic in both directions to westbound Grand Avenue and the ramps carrying westbound Grand Avenue traffic to westbound I-94 and eastbound Grand Avenue to eastbound I-94. In addition, advance work will take place on additional ramps at the interchange to prepare for reconstruction in 2015.

Four nights of closures are scheduled to begin Monday, September 22, on the ramp carrying traffic from eastbound Grand Avenue to eastbound I-94. The overnight ramp closures are needed to construct temporary pavement to carry traffic as ramp reconstruction continues. Electronic message signs and detour signage will be put in place to alert drivers.

Beginning at 9 p.m. each night, the ramp will close to traffic and a detour will be put in place routing traffic through the other ramps within the interchange and then back onto I-94 eastbound. The ramp is scheduled to reopen by 5 a.m. the following mornings in advance of morning commutes with traffic shifted to the right.

Weather permitting, work at the interchange will continue the week of September 22 with the reopening of the ramp carrying traffic from eastbound I-94 to westbound Grand Avenue and the closure of the ramp carrying traffic from westbound Grand Avenue to westbound I-94.

Beginning at 9 p.m. on Monday, September 22, work is scheduled to begin to reopen the ramp carrying traffic from eastbound I-94 to westbound Grand Avenue. By 5 a.m. on Tuesday, September 23, construction crews are scheduled to remove detour signage and construction barricades and reopen the newly reconstructed ramp. The ramp has been closed for reconstruction since July. More than 2,000 vehicles use this ramp daily.

Following the ramp reopening, eastbound traffic on I-94 north of Grand Avenue will be shifted back to its normal configuration, while westbound traffic on I-94 between Washington Street and Stearns School Road will be shifted to the left to provide a work zone for the next phase of ramp reconstruction work. Traffic in both directions will remain in this configuration into November.

Once the I-94 traffic shift is in place, crews will begin work to prepare for the two-month closure of the ramp carrying traffic from westbound Grand Avenue to westbound I-94. Weather permitting, during the week of September 22, work is scheduled to close the ramp and a detour route will be put in place directing drivers from westbound Grand Avenue through other ramps within the interchange to reach the ramp to westbound I-94. Up to 580 vehicles use this ramp daily.

A full closure of the ramp carrying traffic from westbound Grand Avenue to westbound I-94 is necessary to complete the reconstruction because the ramp is too narrow to safely accommodate traffic during construction. In addition to providing a safe work zone for construction workers and drivers, closure of the ramps will allow work to be completed in half the time and reduce the impact on Tollway traffic.

In addition, during the week of September 22, an overnight lane closure followed by a traffic shift is also scheduled on the ramp carrying westbound I-94 traffic to eastbound Grand Avenue. The shift is expected to remain in place for approximately two weeks for the construction of temporary pavement to prepare for ramp reconstruction in 2015.

Work is also underway to reconstruct the ramp carrying westbound I-94 traffic to westbound Grand Avenue with traffic shifts in place to allow for a construction work zone.

Grand Avenue (Illinois Route 132) Interchange Project

The Grand Avenue (Illinois Route 132) Interchange Project includes rebuilding seven of the eight ramps that make up the interchange in 2014 and 2015. The remaining ramp carrying traffic from Grand Avenue to eastbound I-94 was reconstructed as part of the rebuilding and widening of I-94 completed in 2009.

The project includes removing the existing ramp pavement and replacing it with new concrete pavement and removing and replacing the existing shoulders with asphalt. In addition, several of the ramps will be realigned, allowing traffic to flow more freely.

In addition to this year’s construction, work scheduled for 2015 includes reconstruction of the ramps from westbound I-94 to eastbound Grand Avenue and from westbound Grand Avenue to eastbound I-94, as well as a closure with a detour for the reconstruction of the ramp from eastbound Grand Avenue to westbound I-94.