THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2008

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County Finishing Up Local Road Improvements

The Cook County Highway Dept. (CCHD) is putting the finishing touches and closing the books on two projects in Des Plaines and one on Park Ridge's border with Chicago.

Improvements to a section of Joseph J. Schwab Road in Des Plaines, from Algonquin Road to the Union Pacific Railroad tracks, are largely complete with the exception of a small amount of landscaping work.

Mark McMillan, a spokesman for the county highway department, said a part of the road remains closed at the site as the City of Des Plaines continues work on its Riverwalk project.

At the highway department's Monday, May 7 Roads and Bridges meeting, officials said the project came in $2,600.70 under budget.

Another project McMillan characterized as a "small patch job" on Mt. Prospect Road from Touhy Avenue to Dempster Street in Des Plaines and is "virtually done." Records show that project came in $16,304.80 over budget.

The department is also finishing a project on the Chicago-Park Ridge border with curb cuts for wheelchairs. The project, including work on Lawrence Avenue from Central Park Boulevard to Ashland Avenue and Canfield Road from Devon to Northwest Highway, ran $200,000 over budget.

The roadways have been open on this project for two years and only the sidewalk work remains on Lawrence Avenue.