Algonquin Moves Forward With Randall Road Pedestrian Bridge

The village of Algonquin is one step closer to building a pedestrian bridge over Randall Road. 

The Algonquin Committee of a Whole met Tuesday night and heard from Michael E. Kerr, of Christopher B. Burke Engineering out of Rosemont, who presented various design options for the bridge. The bridge will cross Randall near Huntington Drive/Bunker Hill Drive. 

The majority of COW members agreed on a design with brick pillars that has a village of Algonquin emblem on it. Trustee Jim Siegert was the only trustee not to select the brick-pillar design, requesting the village move forward with two of the more artistic and less-traditional designs presented by Kerr. 

COW members requested Kerr look at different color schemes for the design. In particular, they asked Kerr to change the color of a white arch that spans across the bridge. 

The $4 million pedestrian bridge will be funded mostly by federal dollars with the remainder of the cost covered by county and village of Algonquin funds. Federal funds will pay for $3.16 million while the county and village of Algonquin will each fund $400,000 of the project. 

The purpose of the pedestrian bridge is to improve safety for those crossing Randall Road, provide a link between the Woods Creek Bikeway and the Stonegate Bikeway and encourage non-motorized transportation to access Jacobs High School, Sherman Hospital and other commercial areas along Randall Road, Kerr said. 

"There is really no safe place to cross Randall Road on your bike," Kerr said. "This design also accommodates the future widening of Randall Road." 

Construction on the project is slated to start in 2014.