Rakow Road -- Enjoy New Roadway

The Rakow Road project is complete and we thank all of the residents, businesses and commuters along the corridor for the patience and understanding during construction.

Also, thanks to everyone who kept up with the news using this website, email blasts and/or Twitter feed! 

We started staging traffic on June 8th, 2011 and we opened all lanes to live traffic on November 16th, 2012. 

Over those 527 days, the contractors involved in the project:

• Moved over 243,700 cubic yards of soil and clay (imagine six Washington Monuments worth of dirt, plus a little bit extra for good measure!)
• Poured over 30,000 cubic yards of concrete (and it took over 3,750 concrete mixers to deliver that material to the site!)
• Placed over 34,500 tons of hot-mix asphalt on Rakow alone (which took over 1,700 tractor-trailers to deliver!)
• Installed well over 28,000 feet (5.45 miles!) of storm sewer pipe connecting over 490 catch basins, inlets and manholes
• Thank you to everyone involved for the hard work!

Please enjoy the new roadway; we hope it brings you to and from home and work and shopping and friends safely for many years to come!

If you have any questions about the project or the roadway, please feel free to contact the McHenry County Division of Transportation at 815-334-4960 or mcdot@co.mchenry.il.us.
THANK YOU!

Rakow Roadway System Being Monitored

With Rakow Road recently being opened as a new roadway system, the McHenry County Division of Transportation will be monitoring the entire corridor to see how it functions. 

They will be looking at all of the new traffic signal installations, timings and the “No Turn on Right” requirement for eastbound McHenry Avenue traffic to southbound Randall Road. 

Once the roadways have been operational for a time allowing “normal” traffic patterns to resume, traffic counts will be analyzed to see if adjustments are required.  This will be a continual process. 

All of the signals along Rakow are interconnected in an attempt to make travel along Rakow more efficient, although that comes with some disadvantages for cross road traffic.  Continual attempts will be made to make the entire system as efficient as possible, but that does not mean that all directions of traffic will have continual flow at all times. 

Thank you and enjoy the new road!

Rakow Road Work Nearing Completion

Because of the varied activities, including asphalt paving, traffic signal installation, final landscaping and pavement markings, expect traffic delays throughout the entire project over the next few weeks as the work is finished
.  We continue to be on pace to have the entire roadway open to traffic prior to the project completion date of November 30th.  Please be alert as you drive through the project since many different work tasks are being performed simultaneously.

As a reminder, a Rededication of Rakow Road will be held Tuesday, October 30th at the Crossroads of Crystal Lake.  Please visit the Press Releases page or click here to see the invitation and more details.  Thank you for your continued patience!

Concrete Paving For Portions Of Rakow Road Begin Thursday

Concrete paving operations for the southbound IL 31 right turn lane at Rakow Road and the north side intersections of Rakow Road with Pingree and Virginia will begin Thursday, April 5th.  

The mainline base course paving of Rakow Road will begin on Friday, April 6th, starting at IL 31 and heading west.  These operations will take a few weeks to complete.  

Expect some delays as the concrete trucks arrive and leave the job site.  Flaggers will be in place as this work proceeds.  Please be alert while driving in these areas.

Safe Driving Tips For Rakow Road

Please be aware that the Rakow Road construction speed limit will remain in force until the project is complete in fall of 2012. 

All construction speed zones are in force 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, limiting speed and cell phone use.  While most construction activities have ceased for the winter shutdown, the mild winter has allowed work to continue in several areas and we anticipate ongoing utility relocation work through the remainder of the winter. 

 While the construction speed zone is very important for worker safety, it is a fact that over 90% of Illinois traffic-related work zone fatalities are motorists.  Please observe the speed limits and the restriction on cell phone use. 

Pay extra attention while driving through the work zone for your own, the workers and your fellow motorists’ safety.

Rakow Road Closure For Wednesday Morning

The 15 minute closure of Rakow, between Pyott and Virginia, is scheduled to take place at 9am Wednesday, January 18th. 

During this time, the contractor will be installing the middle section of the bike path bridge. 

Thank you for your patience and please watch for guidance from flaggers.

Bicycle Bridge Building Over Rakow Road

The segment of Rakow Road between Pyott and Virginia will be closed for 15 minutes during the week of January 16th to allow for the placement of the bicycle path bridge for the McHenry County Conservation District Trail.  The bridge will pass over Rakow Road just east of Pyott Road.

The bridge is fabricated in three sections. The south section will be placed one day, requiring one lane of traffic to be flagged while the segment is lifted from the truck and set in place.  The center and north sections will be set the following day and will require the 15 minute closure while the center section is set across the existing roadway.  Traffic will be flagged as necessary during the operation to allow the bridge to be set in place.

Thank you in advance for your patience and cooperation during this time.

Progress Continues On Rakow Road Construction

The Rakow Road construction project began in Spring 2011 and is now over 40% complete. 

All Rakow Road traffic has been shifted to the new south side lanes.  Pavement removal, earthwork and storm sewer installations for the north side lanes have already begun. 

The contractor plans to continue with work as long as the weather will allow prior to shutting down for the winter.  Next season’s program will be to complete the construction of the north side lanes along with all intersection approaches, permanent traffic signals, roadway lighting and landscaping. 

Upon project completion, the south side lanes now being used will become the eastbound lanes and the north side lanes to be constructed next season will be the westbound lanes.

The Rakow Road project will be completed with all new lanes open to traffic in late Fall 2012, weather permitting.  When complete, there will be six thru lanes between Ackman Road and Pyott Road and four thru lanes between Pyott Road and IL 31. 

 All of the intersections along the project will be channelized to improve traffic safety and flow.  The signalized intersections at Ackman Road, McHenry Avenue, Pyott Road, Pingree Road and IL 31 will include dual left turn lanes while Virginia Road will have single left turn lanes.  All will have new/modernized interconnected traffic signals. 

The project also includes the construction of a pedestrian/bicycle bridge over Rakow Road for the McHenry County Conservation District’s Bike Trail just east of Pyott Road. 

This season, abutments, approaches and piers will be completed.  It is expected that the new bridge structure will be placed over the winter with a new concrete deck being poured in the Spring 2012.

New photos have been posted to the Photos page!  Click here to view!