Portion of Anderson Road to be Opened Wednesday
Crews installing the steel beams for the new bridge over the railroad tracks as part of the new Anderson Road. CREDIT: KDOT Transportation Committee report.
One of the Kane County’s big improvement projects of 2015 will see a stretch of open road Wednesday — another piece of very good news for Elburn residents and commuters who visit the Elburn train station.
Anderson Road will be opened from Keslinger Road north to the Metra Access Road beginning Sept. 23, 2015.
Stops signs will be in place on Anderson Road until the permanent traffic signals are operational. Motorists should be aware that Anderson Road will remain closed north of Metra Access Road to Prairie Valley Street and intermittent lane closures may be in place to allow crews to complete the remaining construction on the new roadway.
The northern portion of Anderson Road, from Prairie Valley Street to IL Route 38, was reopened Aug. 15, 2015, in time for the start of the Kaneland school year.
About the Anderson Road Project
The $16 million Anderson Road project is a bigtime improvement for the Elburn area.
According to the KDOT Transportation Improvement Plan for 2015-2019, the project provides a new north-south minor arterial that extends from IL Route 38 to Keslinger Road with a grade separation over the Union Pacific Railroad and Metra rail yard. The proposed roadway is an extension of present-day Anderson Road which originates at IL Route 64 and currently terminates just south of IL Route 38.
Almost $8 million of the project costs will be reimbursed by the Illinois Commerce Commission, and a substantial portion of the project is funded by federal, state and local agencies. Among the partners for the project are the village of Elburn, Blackberry Township, Metra and Union Pacific Railroad.
The Anderson Road extension and bridge will consist of one lane in each direction, separated by a grass median. The median will provide right of way for a possible future expansion of the roadway to two lanes in each direction if warranted.
A pedestrian/bike path is proposed on the west side of the roadway/overpass, and new traffic signals are planned at Keslinger Road and ultimately at IL Route 38.
The construction of the extension and grade separation began in 2014 and is expected to be open to traffic in late 2015/early 2016.
For Elburn residents and anyone who travels through the area, the grade separation will be a godsend, because the rail crossing can be down as much as three hours a day for the 105 trains that pass along that line. There are no existing bridge or underpasses within the village of Elburn.
The road improvement will spur economic development, reduce traffic congestion, improve travel times, provide bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and connect residents to retail, service, commercial and educational land uses.
Questions and concerns may be directed to David Boesch, chief of construction with the Division of Transportation, at (630) 584-1170.
For all Kane County Traffic Advisories, see KDOT Traffic Alerts.
