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Torn up, in all directions
Illinois roadwork leaves few options for drivers
By Ann Montgomery
Daily News staff writer
ROSCOE - First the good news.
Winnebago County is investing more than $16 million in roadwork throughout the northern portion of the county. The bad news is the majority of that work is happening all at the same time and will continue well into 2006.
Drivers who encounter the road construction, including the expansion of Hononegah Road in Roscoe, work on Willowbrook Road north of Rockton Road and the widening of Swanson Road, are starting to notice that any way they try to head between Roscoe, Rockton and South Beloit seems to have a delay.
"I was in Canada, and when I got back into cell range I had calls about all the roads being torn up and the bike path," Roscoe Township Supervisor Tom Hawes said.
In addition to the county roads, the Illinois Department of Transportation is working on both Route 251 around Roscoe and Route 2 from South Beloit to near the Rockford area. Those projects are slated to be completed in November, but at least one county project is behind schedule.
Work on Hononegah Road was scheduled to begin earlier this summer, but was pushed back when work needed to be done on a gas line. Six weeks later, work on Hononegah Road is finally under way.
The $2.3 million project seems to be causing the most headaches, as drivers needing to get between Roscoe and Rockton via Hononegah Road are meeting lane closures and slow-downs as workers and equipment fill the roadway to expand the road to four lanes.
Because of the delay in the start of the project, construction crews will have to finish the project in the spring, County Board member David Yeske said. Crews will not be able to work on the road during the coldest parts of the winter, which will add to the delay.
"We need to let our constituents know there are a lot of roads being torn up, and they'll be torn up for some time," Yeske said.
Work on Hononegah Road has also caused a disturbance in the use of the Hononegah Recreation Path, Hawes pointed out.
Trucks are needing to drive on the path as part of the road work, and the path is blocked in some places. Path users are asked to avoid these areas until further notice.
Hawes said any portions of the path torn up by construction crews will be replaced, but probably not until next year.
Residents using Hononegah Road are starting to feel the frustration of fighting through the construction zone every day.
"It's bad. I tried to find another way around, but every way I go there's roadwork," Misty Benjamin of Rockton said as she loaded groceries into her car at Hilander along Hononegah Road Thursday afternoon.
Julie Bartman of Roscoe agreed, noting taking her children from their home along Cedarbrook Drive to school has become a real chore.
"I knew they were going to be doing the work, but I never imagined it would be like this," she said.
Work on a box culvert along Willowbrook Road is slated to be completed by the winter, causing Willowbrook Road to re-open to through traffic this winter.
However, Hawes noted that road is also slated for widening from Rockton Road to Route 75 in 2006.
"The bottom line is people need to plan their lives around the disruptions," Hawes said.
By Ann Montgomery
Daily News staff writer
ROSCOE - First the good news.
Winnebago County is investing more than $16 million in roadwork throughout the northern portion of the county. The bad news is the majority of that work is happening all at the same time and will continue well into 2006.
Drivers who encounter the road construction, including the expansion of Hononegah Road in Roscoe, work on Willowbrook Road north of Rockton Road and the widening of Swanson Road, are starting to notice that any way they try to head between Roscoe, Rockton and South Beloit seems to have a delay.
"I was in Canada, and when I got back into cell range I had calls about all the roads being torn up and the bike path," Roscoe Township Supervisor Tom Hawes said.
In addition to the county roads, the Illinois Department of Transportation is working on both Route 251 around Roscoe and Route 2 from South Beloit to near the Rockford area. Those projects are slated to be completed in November, but at least one county project is behind schedule.
Work on Hononegah Road was scheduled to begin earlier this summer, but was pushed back when work needed to be done on a gas line. Six weeks later, work on Hononegah Road is finally under way.
The $2.3 million project seems to be causing the most headaches, as drivers needing to get between Roscoe and Rockton via Hononegah Road are meeting lane closures and slow-downs as workers and equipment fill the roadway to expand the road to four lanes.
Because of the delay in the start of the project, construction crews will have to finish the project in the spring, County Board member David Yeske said. Crews will not be able to work on the road during the coldest parts of the winter, which will add to the delay.
"We need to let our constituents know there are a lot of roads being torn up, and they'll be torn up for some time," Yeske said.
Work on Hononegah Road has also caused a disturbance in the use of the Hononegah Recreation Path, Hawes pointed out.
Trucks are needing to drive on the path as part of the road work, and the path is blocked in some places. Path users are asked to avoid these areas until further notice.
Hawes said any portions of the path torn up by construction crews will be replaced, but probably not until next year.
Residents using Hononegah Road are starting to feel the frustration of fighting through the construction zone every day.
"It's bad. I tried to find another way around, but every way I go there's roadwork," Misty Benjamin of Rockton said as she loaded groceries into her car at Hilander along Hononegah Road Thursday afternoon.
Julie Bartman of Roscoe agreed, noting taking her children from their home along Cedarbrook Drive to school has become a real chore.
"I knew they were going to be doing the work, but I never imagined it would be like this," she said.
Work on a box culvert along Willowbrook Road is slated to be completed by the winter, causing Willowbrook Road to re-open to through traffic this winter.
However, Hawes noted that road is also slated for widening from Rockton Road to Route 75 in 2006.
"The bottom line is people need to plan their lives around the disruptions," Hawes said.
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