Deerfield Road Overhaul Finally Set To Tear Up Traffic In Late 2026

After years of grumbling in rush hour traffic, Lake County drivers are finally getting the Deerfield Road overhaul they were promised. The county is set to rebuild roughly 2.5 miles of the busy corridor between Milwaukee Avenue and Saunders/Riverwoods Road in a long‑planned, multi‑million‑dollar project that officials say will cut bottlenecks and make it safer to walk and bike.

The makeover will add a continuous center turn lane, upgrade key intersections and rehabilitate the Des Plaines River bridge, all while stitching together a new multi‑use path along the stretch. Major construction is expected to kick off late in 2026 and carry through multiple construction seasons.

The Lake County Board on Tuesday signed off on a $22 million construction appropriation. County documents reviewed by the Chicago Tribune show the Illinois Department of Transportation could pick up as much as 80% of the construction tab, sharply cutting what local taxpayers have to cover. That anticipated state match, combined with other funding commitments, pushes the project out of the design phase and into a formal procurement calendar. Board members framed the vote as an overdue answer to years of congestion and safety complaints along the corridor.

What the project will build

On paper, the plan is a full rebuild. The roadway will be reconstructed and a center turn lane added, with intersection improvements and drainage upgrades folded in. The project also includes bridge rehabilitation and a continuous multi‑use path that will link Buffalo Grove’s trail at Milwaukee Avenue to the bike‑path bridge over the Des Plaines River and the existing Deerfield Road path near Saunders and Riverwoods roads.

Designers have also been tweaking the blueprints behind the scenes. Project documents indicate the team has reduced the number of affected properties during Phase II refinements in an effort to cut down on both environmental impacts and private‑property takings. The project’s information center breaks down the design, engineering and mitigation work that will guide how crews stage construction and keep traffic moving, with a stated goal of better supporting cyclists, pedestrians and transit riders along the corridor, according to the Deerfield Road Corridor project website.

Timeline, cost and county reaction

County staff plan to send the project out to bid in September, with shovels possibly hitting the ground as soon as November or December 2026. Chuck Gleason, Lake County’s manager of capital project development, told the Chicago Tribune the work "has been a long time coming."

Documents reviewed by the Tribune peg construction costs at about $46 million, with the total program cost, including years of planning and engineering, coming in near $70 million. County officials said those numbers shaped the board’s debate and ultimate approval of the latest funding. Gleason called the rebuild "a huge improvement" for commuters and added that once crews are mobilized, they expect the active on‑road construction to last roughly two years.

Long time in the making

This is not a project that appeared overnight. It launched with public meetings in late 2016 and moved through Phase I and environmental review. The project site notes that the Federal Highway Administration issued a Finding of No Significant Impact in June 2022, clearing the way for Phase II engineering and permitting to move forward.

During that stretch, designers have been working on land acquisition and permit approvals and say they have trimmed the number of affected parcels from earlier versions to keep impacts in check. The county’s project page also flags that construction phasing could extend into mid‑2029, depending on how bids come in and how kind the weather is, and it offers regular updates and meeting materials for residents and other stakeholders, according to the Deerfield Road Corridor project website.

With the new appropriation in place, Lake County’s next moves are securing final design approvals, hitting the September bid date and selecting a contractor. Residents along the stretch can expect staged work zones, temporary lane shifts and periodic public notices as the construction schedule firms up. County officials say they will coordinate closely with the villages of Deerfield, Riverwoods and Buffalo Grove to limit headaches and keep people in the loop. We will track the bid calendar and report on how and when the project moves from the drawing board to the pavement.