Randall at U.S. Route 20 / Weld Road
Project Overview
Randall Road at U.S. Route 20 / Weld Road (East) in Elgin, Illinois is undergoing Phase I engineering for proposed intersection improvements. The intersection improvements are intended to improve traffic flow, increase capacity, and enhance safety for the motoring public. As proposed, the improvement would close the Weld Road east access at Randall Road in order to construct a new entrance ramp from northbound Randall Road to eastbound U.S. Route 20. The new design will create a T-Type intersection and eliminate over a dozen conflict points thereby significantly reducing the potential for crashes. Vehicle delay is reduced and capacity is increased as a result of the elimination of several vehicle movements.
Intersection Deficiencies
The intersection of Randall Road at U.S. Route 20 / Weld Road (East) currently experiences vehicle queues extending past existing turn lane storage lengths. Since Randall Road is a coordinated Strategic Arterial Route (SRA) with a long cycle length to accommodate the large volume of through movements, high delays on the side roads occur. The left turn and side street approaches do not have sufficient signal time allocated, resulting in aggressive driving. The southbound Randall Road right turn to U.S. Route 20 cannot access the right turn lane due to long through traffic queues. The existing cross-section of this intersection is no longer effectively serving the 50,000 + motorists using it each day.
Project Goals and Objectives
- Reduce congestion and traffic delays
- Improve safety through reduced congestion and vehicle conflict points
- Minimize environmental impacts
Initial Alternatives
Three alternatives are being reviewed as part of the Study:
- No-Build Alternative with existing geometrics.
- Dual Left-Turn Alternative with traditional widening for additional turn lanes.
- Free Flow Entrance Alternative with a new entrance ramp from northbound Randall Road to eastbound U.S. Route 20.
The Free Flow Entrance Alternative is the only alternative considered that significantly reduces congestion and improves safety. It is favored as the Preferred Alternative and is supported by Illinois Department of Transportation and U.S. Federal Highway Administration. The Free Flow Entrance Alternative includes:
- Close Weld Road (East)
- Free Flow right-turn entrance ramps to eastbound U.S. Route 20 from northbound and southbound Randall Road
- Left-turn green time can be assigned to the side street with no impact to through traffic, reducing the potential for crashes
- More than a dozen vehicle conflict points removed thereby reducing potential for crashes and increasing safety
The Alternative minimizes the following environmental impacts:
- There are no cultural resources or historic properties, structures, and districts in the study area
- Impacts to wetlands are limited to a small section of roadside ditches; Mitigation is not required for these types of wetlands
- There are no threatened and endangered species in the study area
- Predicted noise level changes are not significant; modeling shows change in noise levels would occur near undeveloped land
- There are no special waste sites identified within construction limits
- Seven linear feet of temporary easement will be necessary for grading and drainage work along Randall Road near IHOP
Next Steps and Funding
