County board gives green light to pave Pike Lake Road

The Cook County Board of Commissioners agreed during a meeting Tuesday, Feb. 14 to approve the paving and reconstruction of Pike Lake Road, also known as County Road 45. The move to approve paving the road came in conjunction with hiring LHB Engineering Consultants to the engineering work regarding the reconstruction project for Pike Lake Road.

LHB will be paid approximately $557,000 for their services as design consultants. The project will be paid for largely from the recently passed half-cent sales tax increase in Cook County, though there will likely be bonds taken out until the sales tax funds accumulate.

With regard to the engineering timeline, LHB would submit a redesign proposal sometime by the summer of 2018, as the approved contract will expire in August of that year. With regard to the physical redesign of Pike Lake Road, Cook County Highway Engineer Dave Betts has stated previously that due to the permitting and planning process it could take up to five years to begin construction. The actual costs of the physical redesign, including paving the road, could be more than $10 million. 

As stated in their project proposal, LHB will upgrade approximately 6.75 miles of County Road 45 starting at County Road 7 until the road ends near Pike Lake. Once the main thoroughfare is paved, the speed limit on Pike Lake Road will be suggested by LHB to be 55 mph.  In addition to paving the road, there will be a redesign of the approach to the Cascade River Bridge on Pike Lake Road, and the intersection with Murmur Creek Road.

In the near future, there will be a series of neighborhood open houses regarding the construction project on Pike Lake Road. 

Commissioner Heidi Doo-Kirk compared the Pike Lake Road project to “landing on the moon” and said improving the road is a big deal in the history of Cook County.

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