As one of Chicagoland's busiest thoroughfares, Milwaukee Avenue continues to play an active role in the day-to-day operations of Niles, Des Plaines, Glenview, Northbrook, Wheeling, Lincolnshire, Vernon Hills, Libertyville and Gurnee.
Being such a highly-traveled route, many villages are looking toward to future to see how they can improve the scenery and retail offerings along Milwaukee Avenue, as construction today will make way for more drivers passing through in the future.
Construction and beautification projects have some villages wondering what's in store for future generations that travel, shop and live along Milwaukee Avenue.
Parts of Milwaukee Avenue stretching from Niles to Prospect Heights are undergoing $13.3 million in road repairs led by the Illinois Department of Transportation to create a higher functioning route for the 25,000 automobiles that travel on the specific stertch every day.
IDOT project manager Juris Velkme said the project began in August 2008 and will be complete by August 2010. Crews are working to widen the road from 48 feet to 64 feet as well as raising the road five feet for flood mitigation in the parts that run alongside the Des Plaines River. Also, crews are raising the bridge over the river in order to withstand higher water elevations.
“There will be numerous benefits this project will provide in the future,” Velkme said. “It will reduce accidents because we are widening the footprint roadway so more traffic will be able to get through. We’re also completely reconfiguring the intersection at U.S. Route 45, so cars can turn left and right safely—a situation that has created a lot of rear-end accidents in the past.”
Velkme said that the number of cars that travel the part of the road on a daily basis will likely rise to 30,000 come 2020.
“This type of project, which includes brand new concrete pavement, should last approximately 25 to 30 years,” he said. “It’s also a green project, we’re re-using six inches of existing asphalt as well as10 inches of concrete to be replaced as capping stone to the new construction.”
As far as future plans for the businesses in the towns that Milwaukee Avenue runs through, such as Niles, the village plans on “beautifying” the town to attract retail, consumer and pedestrian activity, according to Denise McCreery, the village’s business coordinator.
“There will be some painting of light poles, brick pavers laid and a change in landscaping,” she said. “We don’t have a downtown area, but we have Milwaukee Avenue. The immediate change is going to be aesthetic, but long term, we’re hoping for more consumer businesses that will lend to a walking experience.”
Assistant Village Manager for Niles, Steve Vinezeano, said in the future, he’d like to see a safe sidewalk system in place for residents to stroll along, and a rapid transit system into play along Milwaukee Avenue in Niles, which talks for have already taken place.
“I believe in the types of urban settings where people can walk out their doors and get everything they need close to home, as opposed to having to drive 8 to 10 miles,” Vinezeano said. “My 50-year view of what Milwaukee Avenue could be, is something where you’ve got proper development, and people can hop on a bus to go to local businesses to fill their needs and walk back home.”
A similar reinvention along Milwaukee Avenue is taking place in Glenview. The village established a Milwaukee Avenue corridor committee in 2007 to designate capital improvement plans to make the road, which runs along the outside of the town, more reflective of what Glenview, as a whole, has to offer its residents.
Some construction has already begun, such as that of a shopping center at Milwaukee and Central avenues, but has halted due to economic stresses. Mary Bak, Glenview’s director of development, said the village is optimistic the construction will pick up soon and the full vision for the corridor will come to fruition one day, and continue to serve generations for years to come.
Even though the economy is causing growth to halt in some areas, others see it as an opportunity to build while prices fall. Further north in Wheeling, Milwaukee Avenue runs along the backyard of Chicago Executive Airport, and according to airport manager Dennis Rouleau, the third busiest airport in the state intends to stay that way.
“We are the business aviation destination for the Chicago area, and we’re very happy about that and intend to stay that way,” Roleau said. “If someone wants to fly into Chicago, they can get in and out and have easy access to expressways, dine in plenty of restaurants up on restaurant row and stay in the many hotels offered along Milwaukee Avenue. All of these businesses compliment the airport.”
Roleau said there are opportunities in any economy, and the airport currently has a building project to construct eight new hangar buildings and thanks to the suffering economy, the price to do so has come down dramatically in the last two years.
“We’re taking advantage of that,” he said. “We have plans to construct some small aircraft hangars very shortly, and we hope to break ground in four months or so. We are making a decision to build, and are trying to make things happen to benefit the airport.”
Further north, shoppers can find themselves traveling along Milwaukee Avenue to Hawthorn Shopping Mall in Vernon Hills. Assistant village manager John Kalmar said he foresees the road continuing to be a retail and office corridor through the community.
“I think Milwaukee Avenue will evolve in the future, it will remain primarily a retail corridor, but there are going to be retail spaces converted into non-retail sales tax generating uses,” he said. “There simply isn’t the same amount of retail space and retailers that there were three or four years ago.”
Kalmar said it makes sense to incorporate more residential spaces around the thoroughfare in the future, which are adjacent to the retail areas in order to reduce carbon footprints.
But, some towns Milwaukee Avenue runs through aren’t hoping for major changes in the future. In Libertyville, officials said they hope the area around Milwaukee Avenue will stay the same for future generations. John Spoden, director of community development, said Milwaukee Avenue will continue to be the town’s front door and village’s main street.
“We have plans for some new restaurants and buildings, but my hope in 100 years is that this downtown will be in tact as much as possible,” Spoden said. “The downtown feel—that town within the town—is important to maintain.” |
