Green Bay Road Reconstruction Public Engagement Phase Underway

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Eight years after planning begun for the replacement and reconstruction of Green Bay Road between Clavey Road and Central Avenue in Highland Park, the public engagement process is underway, city officials announced.

The project is expected to cost nearly $15.7 million, with federal grants covering 80 percent of the cost.

So far, parts of the plan have been discussed at the City Council, the Transportation Advisory Group, the Bike Walk Advisory Committee and other public meetings, according to city staff.

Its goals include adding bike lanes, restoring parkway landscaping, modernizing traffic signals, improving underground utilities, upgrading intersection sidewalk ramps and reconstructing pavement, according to a presentation from a public information meeting about the project last month.

The city received approval from the Illinois Department of Transportation last April to begin final engineering work.

Last month, city staff hosted a public information meeting after sending written notification to more than 600 property owners in the vicinity of the project.

At the Jan. 25 meeting, staff presented three possible concepts for bike lanes — unprotected, protected by flexible bollards or protected by raised concrete curbs.

Following that meeting, and based on "public feedback and follow-up individual discussions with elected officials," the city scrapped the option of bike lanes protected by curbs.

Another public meeting is planned for 6:30 p.m. March 2 at the community room of the Highland Park Police Department at 1677 Old Deerfield Road.

Community input from the meeting will be incorporated in Phase II Design Engineering, which includes drawing up contracts and acquiring right-of-way and construction easements.

Construction, which can begin once plans are finalized, land is acquired and funding is secure, is anticipated to begin in 2024 or 2025 and take two years to complete.

More information and answers to frequently asked questions are available on the city's website.