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May 7, 2021

Stearns School Road Update

Today, the Lake County Division of Transportation began construction on the emergency replacement of the failed culvert on Stearns School Road between Hutchins Road and Hunt Club Road. The road is expected to safely reopen to traffic in 3-4 weeks, weather permitting.

On March 25, the Lake County Division of Transportation (LCDOT) closed Stearns School Road at Mill Creek just east of Hutchins Road after a culvert was found to be failing. This led to the pavement collapsing on Stearns School Road a few days later. 

After the closure, LCDOT immediately began researching the fastest and most effective way to acquire the materials, develop design plans, secure permits, and stage necessary construction activities. Typically, the design, fabrication and construction would take a number of months to complete, but we are working to accelerate the schedule through a two-staged approach: 

Stage 1 (Construction Now): LCDOT has begun the emergency replacement of the failed culvert and pavement. The road is expected to safely reopen to traffic in 3-4 weeks, weather permitting.

Stage 2: The design and permitting for a new single span bridge at this location is also underway. This phase is expected to take between 12 -16 months to complete, with construction beginning in 2022. This will require a road closure in 2022, but it will occur after the Illinois Tollway's bridge project on Stearns School Road over I-94 is complete. 

We thank everyone for their patience, and we look forward to completing stage 1 of construction over the next month. 

Pictured: Pavement failure after Stearns School Road was closed in late-March. 

Detour Currently in Place

The detour route in place is Hutchins Road to Grand Ave (IL 132) to Dilleys Road. 

Media Contact

Alex Carr
Deputy Communications Officer
Email
847-377-2156