Long Road Ahead for Randall Road Improvements

Tuesday’s public hearing for the Randall Road improvement plan was just the start for what likely will be a long road ahead toward solving traffic woes along the heavily traveled corridor.

The McHenry County Division of Transportation asked business owners, residents, commuters and local officials to provide input on a proposed continuous-flow intersection for Algonquin and Randall roads. Commonly known as a CFI, the intersection contains a crossover lane that has traffic turning left placed to the left of oncoming traffic. It would be the first of its kind in the state.

By 2030, average daily traffic on the corridor is projected to increase 54 percent. During the heaviest hour of traffic, the number of vehicles driving on the Randall Road corridor could reach up to 6,300 vehicles, up from an average of 3,600 vehicles in 2007, according to the last available data.

“The traffic problem isn’t going away,” said Joe Korpalski, McHenry County transportation director.

With a continuous-flow intersection, county engineers said travel time from Ackman Road to County Line Road would go from 26 minutes to just eight minutes, but it also would involve removing entry points to businesses surrounding the intersection and removing Bank of America and Phillips 66.

“There are a lot of moving parts that go into it (the project) at different times,” Korpalski said.

The hearing consisted of an informational video that showed a traffic simulation model, exhibits illustrating what the proposed changes would look like and county officials answering any questions.

Feb. 23 is the deadline for public comment, after which the transportation board will take the comments into consideration and will likely vote on a final design in the future. Once the transportation board decides on a design plan, the county still needs to secure federal funding for the $85 million project, and that may take a long time, Korpalski said. He added that the board may decide not to make any changes at all.

At the local level, Algonquin Village President John Schmitt said he still is gathering information.

“It’s a critically important road infrastructure to Algonquin and there are many issues that need to be ironed out,” Schmitt said.

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