When my wife and I drove to Barrington for Irene Napier’s funeral Monday, our shock absorbers took a beating on Route 14.
Since it is a state road, I asked local legislators to contact the Illinois Department of Transportation for corrective action.
The first to reply was State Rep. Marty McLaughlin. He wrote,
“Our office reached out to IDOT earlier this month and received the following response concerning the condition of Route 14:
“‘Thank you for your inquiry regarding improvements along US 14 (Northwest Highway) from Illinois Route 31 to Illinois Route 22 in McHenry County. IDOT has reviewed your request for information and offer the following comments.
‘The Department monitors pavement conditions and identifies the appropriate pavement preservation or pavement rehabilitation projects in accordance with the Department’s Transportation Asset Management Plan (TAMP) to ensure that the Department’s overall highway system is in a State of Acceptable Condition.
‘Based on the most recent data, the driving surface along US 14 (Northwest Highway) from 0.4 MI southeast of Cary Algonquin Road to Lake County Line has been identified as a rehabilitative resurfacing need.
‘Funding for this rehabilitative need is included in the Department’s FY 2025-2030 Proposed Highway Improvement Program.
‘Current engineering efforts are targeted to enable a contract letting for the proposed improvements in the middle portion of our current multi-year program timeframe.
‘The Department prioritizes preservation, and rehabilitation needs annually based on the current pavement condition, the type and volume of traffic carried, and the current State of Acceptable Condition.
‘The inclusion of a project in the multi-year program as well as the placement of a project in a fund year within the multi-year program is based on the prioritization coupled with predetermined funding levels.
‘Based on the most recent data, the segment of US 14 (Northwest Highway) from Illinois Route 31 to 0.4 MI southeast of Cary Algonquin Road does not qualify for rehabilitative resurfacing at this time based on TAMP; therefore, it was not included within the FY 2025-2030 Proposed Highway Improvement Program.
‘The Department will continue to monitor the condition of the driving surface and will identify a rehabilitative resurfacing project once the requirements of TAMP are met.
‘The inclusion of a project in a future Multi-Year Program will be contingent upon funding availability coupled with the need to include additional projects to achieve the overall State of Acceptable Condition as defined in the TAMP.
‘Until the Department can program a rehabilitative resurfacing on this route, maintenance forces will continue to monitor this location and remedy any hazards as they become apparent. ‘”
Yesterday, I received photos of work being done just east of the railroad overpass from State Senator Craig Wilcox:
A second shot:
