Lake Street median, sidewalk work underway in Bloomingdale

Lake Street in Bloomingdale is about to have an upgrade, but drivers will have to put up with some lane closures while the work is done.

The "streetscape" work, which is underway, will eliminate grass and mulch medians that are hard to maintain and create box medians to hold shrubs and plants and to better protect trees from road salt in the winter, Village Administrator Pietro Scalera said.

Streetlights will be replaced with LED lights and sidewalks will be replaced.

The project will run from Glen Ellyn Road to Bloomingdale Road.

Bloomingdale is putting $3.8 million into the project from sales tax revenue in the village.

The work will include intermittent lane closures, Scalera said.

"The improvements along that corridor will primarily enhance traffic and pedestrian safety as well as enhance the aesthetics of the median," Scalera said.

The new planter boxes will have irrigation and will take up less space than the existing medians, which were unsafe to mow and constantly had mulch wash into the street, Scalera said.

The village is hoping the renovations will help rejuvenate the Lake Street corridor and Old Town district. In 2018, the village completed a streetscape project in the Old Town area that attracted new businesses, he said.

Since implementation of the tax increment financing district that is funding streetscape, a number of long vacant commercial spaces have new tenants, property owners are reinvesting in the office and retail centers along Lake Street and national retailers have moved into the area, including Starbucks and Chipotle, he said.

The Lake Street project was projected to be done by mid-September but could be completed by the end of August, Scalera said.