The concrete patching taking place at the intersection of Lake Cook Road and Northwest Highway is part of the Main St resurfacing project being completed by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT).
The overnight lane closures in place right now are necessary due to the nature of the concrete patching process. IDOT has indicated that the open patches will be poured either tomorrow, Friday 11/18 or Saturday 11/19.
They will continue with removals early next week and aim to reopen the entire intersection on Wednesday 11/23 before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
There will be another round of patching the week after Thanksgiving but this is expected to be completed by the end of the week, Friday 12/2.”
Our Village Board of Trustees will be conducting their regular monthly meeting beginning this evening at 6:30 PM. A copy of their agenda can be viewed and downloaded here, however residents should take special note of their draft 2023 Budget, particularly as it relates to Roads & Bridges where at least one expense is up over 100%.
By far one of the largest increases is in, “Road Maintenance Contracts.” This year’s budget is $661,000. But the proposed amount next year is $1,059,200. That’s an increase of $398,200.
“Mowing/Cleanup Contracts,” is going from $70,00 this year to more than double that in 2023 at $150,000.
In an effort to understand the underlying reasons for these and other increases, we listened to the recordings of the nearly two (2) hour November 8th Special Meeting of the Roads & Bridges Committee yesterday. What we found revealed largely incoherent rambling (as usual) by the chair. As of this posting, the audio now states, “Unsupported audio,” as seen in this link, unfortunately, but some who heard the recording might consider this a blessing.
Hopefully this evening we’ll learn why such exorbitant roads increases are being proposed, but beforehand we’d like to share some advice with the Roads & Bridges Chair in the form quote from a famous Thanksgiving movie that goes, “…when you’re telling these little stories, here’s a good idea. Have a point. It makes it so much more interesting for the listener!”
No, that’s not a typo. It’s not a practical joke either.
Roads & Bridges Chair Laura Ekstrom chose the absolute busiest day of the year at Village Hall to have her own special Roads & Bridges meeting consisting of one (1) agenda item today. And, her special meeting is scheduled at 3 PM, a time when many people vote since they leave their workplaces early.
Turnout for early voting this year has been brisk. The parking lots have frequently been seen nearly full, and yesterday lines were forming to vote, thus increasing frustrations.
Common sense would dictate alternative dates be chosen by Ekstrom, or short of that, a Zoom meeting be scheduled if there was no alternative. Clearly, this escaped her.
A copy of her agenda can be viewed here, and if you find yourselves trying to vote this afternoon but unable to park, we know who you have to thank.
Hart Road between Lake Cook Road and US 14 (Northwest Hwy) in Barrington had been closed since June 2 to construct a new bridge.
As part of the project, crews replaced aging triple culvert pipes with a new bridge. A new bike path was added on the bridge’s east side, and Hart Road is currently being resurfaced from south of US 14 to Lake Cook Road.
While the bridge is now open, road paving, pavement striping, and landscape restoration work is still in progress. Daily lane closures will be utilized to complete these remaining items. Crews have scheduled to pave the final pavement surface later in the week and the bridge deck grooving is planned for Saturday, Oct. 29.
We thank everyone for their patience while the road was closed. We also thank the contractor that worked throughout the summer to safely reopen the bridge ahead of schedule.”
Hart Road between County Line Road and Northwest Highway in Barrington will reopen Tuesday, village officials announced. The road has been closed since June for a $3 million Lake County Department of Transportation project that included construction of a new bridge over Flint Creek. (John Starks | Staff Photographer, June 2022)
Hart Road between Lake-Cook Road and Northwest Highway in Barrington will reopen to traffic Tuesday, almost two weeks ahead of the original target date of Nov. 4, village officials announced.
The road, which travels along the west side of Barrington High School, has been closed since June for a $3 million Lake County Division of Transportation project that included construction of a new bridge over Flint Creek. Work crews also removed three aging metal culverts and added a bike path along the east side of the road.
Village officials said Hart Road still needs a second layer of asphalt. Paving operations will take place after school traffic wraps up in the mornings. The road will remain open during paving, but delays will occur.
Our Village Board of Trustees will be conducting their regular monthly meeting beginning this evening at 6:30 PM. Some topics on the agenda include:
[Vote] A Resolution Authorizing the Purchase and Installation of Tile Flooring by the Village of Barrington Hills Resolution 22 – 12
Meeting Calendar 2023 – Draft
BACOG’s Private Well Water Testing Summary
Also, for those who’ve endured the deplorable sound quality when phoning in to attempt to participate in board meetings conversations, a new phone number appears on tonight’s agenda. What’s just swell about this new number is an eleven (11) digit meeting ID is required to participate on the call.
One can only assume this added aggravation will result in significantly improved sound quality. We’re looking forward to being pleasantly surprised.
A copy of the agenda can be viewed and downloaded here.
“This week, the Contractor laid asphalt prime, a liquid coating that is applied before the second (surface) layer of asphalt is placed.
Beginning Monday (October 10), the Contractor will be laying the final layer of asphalt from Northwest Highway to Hart Road and expect to have all paving completed by the end of the week, weather permitting. There will be delays associated with lane closures in this area during this work.
Pavement striping and final restoration work will follow.
We understand the frustration with this construction and the associated traffic delays and congestion. While this is not a Village project, we will continue to share updates from IDOT and are looking forward to the completion of this significant improvement in our community!”
The 2022 Barrington High School Homecoming parade is tomorrow morning:
“The BHS Homecoming Parade gets underway at 10:15am on Saturday, Oct. 1. All participants will leave from the METRA Station and march down Main Street to BHS. Alumni floats line up behind all the high school student entries, with the exception of the 50th Reunion Class which will take their place in the front of the parade.”
Since resurfacing construction continues along the most of the parade route, trust us when we write there is little that cannot be accomplished in downtown Barrington before 9:00 AM. So, unless you’re participating in or viewing the festivities, we strongly suggest getting an early start tomorrow.
A list of 2022 Homecoming activities can be found here. Enjoy.
Did you know that the Village has an Ethics Commission? The independent commission adds to the overall transparency of our government and serves to investigate complaints alleging violations of the Ethics Chapter of the Village Code. We are proud to report that this 3-member Commission has never once had to meet regarding a violation!”
As previously chronicled in this publication, if one searches ourVillage Code, keying in the word “ethics,” the result reads, “No Matches Found.”
Our Village needs an Ethics Commission. How else could parties involved in complaints present their respective cases to determine if ethics violations did, or did not, occur? Listed below are typical practices that might arise in our Village, and in our opinion, may warrant investigation, understanding that there are no implications as to guilt or innocence of any on the list:
Should expensive legal battles, possibly precipitated by actions of elected and appointed Village officials, be investigated?
Should the hiring and retention of Village paid staff positions by elected family members be investigated?
Should contracts with vendors who maintain personal and professional relationships with elected Village officials and their families be investigated?
Should the solicitations of funds and hand selection of vendors by family members or close friends of elected Village officials, absent oversight by appointed Village committees, be investigated?
For these and other reasons, our Village needs to appoint an Ethics Commission to act as ombudsmen, when any question of potential maladministration or ethics violations is considered or occurs.
Candidates for this proposed commission could come from existing appointed Village bodies, ones whose objectivity would be unquestioned.
The perfect candidates for this roll are the incumbent members of the Board of Heath. They are highly qualified, underutilized, and would prove to be an effective force in maintaining ethical governance of the Village of Barrington Hills.
Construction crews continue working on a new Hart Road bridge over Flint Creek in Barrington. The road remains closed until early November. (Paul Valade | Staff Photographer)
Crews are making progress on the Hart Road bridge project in Barrington.
The road was shut down last June between Lake Cook Road and Northwest Highway. The Lake County Division of Transportation $3 million project consists of removing three aging metal culverts and replacing those with a bridge over Flint Creek.
An 8-foot-wide bicycle and pedestrian path will also be added to the structure.
There is currently no through traffic on Hart Road from Northwest Highway to Lake-Cook Road (Main Street), though local traffic will be allowed on either side of the creek.
The closure impacts nearby Barrington High School. Access to the school and the athletic complex can be made from Lake Cook Road.
According to Lake County’s Sept. 12 update, current work includes pouring concrete on the south approach slab, north side excavating and grading the approach footing and building the road base on the south side of the bridge. Wetland plants were also planted along the creek.
“CONSTRUCTION UPDATE November 17, 2022
