Massive Rockford reconstruction project could take 5 years to engineer

Years of engineering for the estimated $55.5 million reconstruction of South Alpine Road between Charles Street and Linden Road has begun.

Rockford City Council recently awarded a nearly $5 million phase one engineering contract to Chicago-based Alfred Benesch & Company. Although the money will be initially paid from the city's Capital Improvement Program, the entire cost of the project will be reimbursed and covered by the state's Rebuild Illinois program and federal funding.

South Alpine is an unmarked state route in severe disrepair. Plans are to reconstruct a 2.5-mile stretch of Alpine from Linden Road to Charles Street. Once complete, the state will hand ownership of the road over to the city of Rockford.

The project is expected to take as long as five years to engineer and to obtain needed federal approvals before construction even begins.

More: 80% of $14.5M transformative Rockford road project will be paid by feds

Gov. JB Pritzker appeared at a January 2023 news conference in Rockford to announce the project.

South Alpine is a transportation, shipping and city economic corridor with an average daily traffic count of about 24,700 vehicles. Considered one of the city's worst conditioned roads, the Illinois Department of Transportation resurfaced a roughly mile-long stretch from Harrison Avenue to Charles Street as a stop-gap measure until the reconstruction project can proceed.

Alfred Benesch & Company is expected to complete its engineering work by August 2026. It will include a traffic and safety analysis, data collection, environmental studies, alternative options analysis and public engagement among other services.

Phase two engineering, federal approval and land acquisition is expected to take two to three years before construction begins in 2028 or 2029.

Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached at (815) 987-1374, via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on Twitter @jeffkolkey.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford Alpine Road project will cost estimated $55.5 million