SKOKIE, IL — Village officials announced the completion of roadway improvements to Gross Point Road.
The $8 million upgrade includes the addition of unprotected bike lanes on both sides of the street for about 0.7 miles from just north of Golf Road to Old Orchard Road.
According to project documents, the posted speed limit is 35 mph and the design speed is 40 mph.
Find out what's happening in Skokiewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The new on-street bikes lanes now connect to the multi-use path along the south side of Old Orchard Road, which is being extended west of Skokie Boulevard.
Key upgrades include new pavement, storm sewers, and traffic signal upgrades at Old Orchard Road. The project also includes additional on-street parking and a new sidewalk on the northwest side of the road.
Click Here: mens wallabies jersey
Find out what's happening in Skokiewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Federal and state funding picked up most of the cost of the project, with the village having to pick up less than $200,000 of the tab, according to village staff.
The Illinois Department of Transportation covered the local matching for federal grants is set to transfer jurisdiction over the road to the village once final inspection of the project is complete.
The freshly painted bike lanes are located half amile north of the spot where 27-year-old Skokie resident Joseph Center was struck and critically injured while riding his bike after he left work at the nearby Jewel-Osco on the evening of July 24.
Citing witnesses and security camera footage, Skokie police and fire crews reported that Center rode out into traffic from the northeast corner of Gross Point Road and Skokie Boulevard and was nearly struck by a car headed southwest on Gross Point preparing to turn left on Skokie before he was hit by another car headed northeast at about 35 mph, according to records obtained by Skokie Patch.
Center, a talented guitarist, was hospitalized in a coma with a brain bleed, Streetsblog Chicago reported after the crash. Center died on Aug. 15 from injuries he suffered in the crash, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, which ruled his death an accident.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.