Area motorists should expect parking restrictions and periodic lane closures when a road resurfacing project to a more than one-mile stretch of Pratt Avenue in Lincolnwood starts Monday.
More Top Picks Best Motorcycle Gloves For The Money
The $815,650 project, overseen by Lincolnwood’s contract engineer firm Christopher B. Burke Engineering, includes the resurfacing of Pratt from Lockwood Avenue east to Crawford Avenue.
Crews also will repair gutters, sidewalks and curbs along the street, according to Razvan Calin, the head engineer for the project. The roadwork is expected to last through November.
Daytime parking restrictions will go into effect between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. along both sides of the street starting Monday, but motorists shouldn’t expect rolling lane closures until mid-October, Calin said.
During the first week, crews will start blocking off the area around Pratt and Central avenues to local traffic only. No detours are planned for the beginning of the project, when crews will start removing pavement from the curbs and marking the street with traffic control signs.
“We’ll decide whether to start detour routes depending on how traffic flow goes as we move along,” Calin said.
Project engineers also were mindful of the popularity of Pratt Avenue for school buses traveling to and from the Lincolnwood School District 74 campus at Crawford and Pratt Avenues, he said.
“There are quite a few intersections that will be impacted, but the closures likely won’t start until mid-October after the concrete work is done,” Calin said. “The second phase of the project is the resurfacing.”
The resurfacing part of the project is expected to cause the most traffic disruption. But two-way traffic will be maintained during the course of the project, according to Andrew Letson, assistant to the Lincolnwood public works director.
“Motorists will be able to drive on the street throughout the project,” Letson said. “Any lane closures will roll with the contractor’s area of work.”
Houses with driveways facing Pratt Avenue could be affected by the project, but Letson said he didn’t know how many homes could be affected at one time because the driveway closures would be decided on a case-by-case basis.
As the curb pavement is removed along Pratt, engineers will determine whether the curb areas that run along driveway entrances also need to be replaced, Calin said.
“We’re going to try to limit the curb removal around driveways unless it’s really bad,” he said, adding that affected residents would receive notification from the village the night before construction begins.
Because concrete takes 10 days to harden, Letson said, residents whose driveways would be affected by construction would need to park on the side streets during that period.
The area of Pratt and Crawford has been a busy construction zone as of late. Last year, crews finished a two-year reconstruction of a mile-and-a-half stretch of Crawford Avenue that affected parts of Lincolnwood and Skokie.
The latest project is expected to wrap up by Nov. 11, but weather and staffing levels could affect the timeline, Calin said.
A Federal Surface Transportation Program Grant is covering 70 percent of the project costs. The village is paying the remaining $244,750, according to public works.
Natalie Hayes is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.