The Illinois Tollway has informed the Lake County Division of Transportation (LCDOT) that a full closure of the Stearns School Road Bridge is scheduled to begin on Monday, March 15 as part of a project to replace the 70‐year‐old bridge over the Tri‐State Tollway (I‐94).

To safely accommodate construction of a new bridge and to reduce the duration of work, the Stearns School Road Bridge will be closed to traffic for nine months. The full closure and a traffic detour are necessary because the bridge is too narrow to accommodate traffic while safely providing a work zone to complete the removal and reconstruction of the bridge.

New Bridge Improvements The Illinois Tollway, Village of Gurnee and Lake County Division of Transportation are working in coordination to replace the 70‐year‐old Stearns School Road Bridge. The new bridge structure will be designed to provide for three lanes of traffic, as well as additional bicycle and pedestrian access.

As part of the Stearns School Road Bridge Project, the existing two‐lane bridge carrying traffic over the Tollway will be removed and replaced with a new, wider bridge structure. This Tollway‐led project is planned to construct a new bridge that will carry three lanes of Stearns School Road over the North Tri‐State Tollway (I‐94) along with 4‐foot‐wide shoulders, replacement of the existing pedestrian path on the north side and the addition of a new sidewalk on the south side. In addition, since the Illinois Tollway typically constructs new bridges with a 75‐year service life, the new bridge will be designed to accommodate future local roadway improvements.

Detour Route A posted detour will be put in place directing Stearns School Road traffic to use Dilleys Road, IL 132/Grand Ave and Hunt Club Road to route around the bridge closure. Stearns School Road will be closed between Hunt Club Road and Dilleys Road, however access to the Gurnee Mills Mall off Stearns School Road will remain open during construction.

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This press release was produced by the Lake County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.

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