Unpaved half of 25-mile Robert McClory Bike Path to get new surface as part of $9.17 million project

A significant upgrade for the northern half the Robert McClory Bike Trail, which runs the length of Lake County from Highland Park to the Wisconsin state line, will get underway in coming weeks.

Paving the remaining unpaved portion of the path — more than 11 miles — from Broadway Street in North Chicago north to Russell Road in Winthrop Harbor is the main element of the $9.17 million project.

Also part of the project are Americans with Disabilities Act upgrades at intersections and replacing old pavement from Old Elm Road to Vine Avenue in Highland Park and Highwood for a total of 12.3 paved miles.

The project is divided into 11 segments and the contractor, Campanella & Sons Inc., of Wadsworth, will complete a segment before moving to a different one, according to the Shane Schneider, director of the Lake County Division of Transportation and county engineer.

“They can work on multiple segments as long as they're not directly adjacent in order to keep as much of the path open as possible,” he explained during a recent overview.

Trail traffic will be detoured around work areas.

Besides paving, concrete patching and path reconstruction as well as roadway crossing improvements, curb ramp upgrades and isolated grading to address chronic drainage are part of the project expected to be completed by November.

Campanella's bid of $9.17 million was the only one received and about 19% over the engineer's estimate, according to project information.

Staging in segments, limited access and construction requiring smaller vehicles led to higher prices particularly for earth excavation.

“It's a very long stretch. Access is difficult,” said Tom Somodji, LCDOT project manager. “It's slow going.”

This is the first of three phases of planned upgrades for the 25.5 mile path named for former Rep. Robert McClory of Lake Bluff, who died in 1988.

A second phase to be done in 2026 or 2027 will address path crossings at four multilane streets: Golf Road, Grand Avenue, Washington Street and Route 120, Schneider said. Modifications on all four would extend from 500 to 1,000 feet in either direction for safer pedestrian crossing, he added.

A third phase will involve potential landscaping enhancements to the corridor and “reestablishing the property limits” between Waukegan and North Chicago, Schneider added.