Route 45 Expansion: The End is Near

Drivers who travel along Route 45 can start counting the days. The end of the project, with all lanes of traffic open each direction, is slated for Dec. 7.

In less than three weeks, dozens of barricades will be gone, the big equipment parked in the medians will be moved, the lane changing and the zigzagging of traffic on the route will be straightened out.

While it may appear the project is far from completion, site officials promise they are in the final stages of this expansion.

“We are just finishing up the concrete panels that are in the middle of the intersections,” said Senior Project Manager Chris Aspegren of Berger Excavating Contractors. “Those areas are the hardest to get to because of the traffic, but we should be finished soon.”

Crews are working on those panels at Washington and Route 45. All left-hand turns at the intersection have been prohibited for a week. He said that will be open again by Monday.

The next step is for permanent stoplights to be installed at all intersections. Aspegren said the work would move from south to north, with each intersection taking several days.

“Once all lanes are open you will still see some work going on,” he said. “We will be finishing up with the ground restoration along the shoulders and in the medians, but traffic will be moving in all four lanes.”

The construction project began exactly a year ago with the initial completion date for this month. Aspegren said it was pushed back due mostly to the utility relocations early in the project and because of the weather.

Businesses Eager to Restore Customer Base

In business for more than seven years, owner Trudy Salinas said this was one of her worst summers to date.

Stationed in the middle of the renovations just north of Center Street, Salinas is frustrated with the chaos in front of her store and ready for it to end.

“You drive and you can’t really tell where you are going or what lane you are supposed to be in,” Salinas said of the dozens of orange barrels marking the route. “It’s dangerous in the daylight, let alone the dark.”

Salinas said she had to cancel several of her summer events simply because of the construction. “People don’t want to drive over here and I don’t blame them. It’s a mess out there.”

Nearby businesses in the Graystone Manor Shopping and Office Center are also feeling the pain.

“People who used to stop in and shop when they just had some extra time aren’t doing that,” said Liz Schaiper of The Spotted Crocodile. “We’ve had days when we’ve only had two or three shoppers in. It’s been tough.”

These business owners’ biggest complaint is the challenge of just getting to the stores. Several times during the project, southbound traffic could not turn directly into the shopping center, instead having to continue to Gages Lake Road and make a U-turn.

“We’ve had customers say they are afraid to come over because they’re not sure how to get here, not sure about how to turn around, or they don’t want to cross over the unpaved road. It’s frustrating,” Schaiper said.

“All we want is a way for our customers to have access to us," said manager Terry Leonardi at . “It’s not really a lot to ask, is it?”

Possibly the one positive thing during the expansion project has been more visibility to the stores’ signage.

When traffic is stopped in front of your business “at least they were looking over here to see what I have,” said Salinas.

With the start of the holiday shopping season, store owners say they hope the Dec. 7 completion date is actual, and not just an estimate.

“We have a big Spanktacular Event going on Dec. 8, and we want all the barrels and barricades out of here," said Salinas.

"We have big sales going on and we just restocked our clearance center so we want people to be able to get in here and shop," said Schaiper.

• For more about shopping in Grayslake, visit the Patch Directory.

• For the Patch Holiday Shopping Guide, visit here.