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Elgin approves engineering agreement for Kimbell Street signal interconnect; council seeks lighting review
Summary
The council approved a phase-2 engineering agreement with Hampton Lenzini & Renwick for a Kimbell Street traffic-signal interconnect project funded largely by a federal award; councilmembers asked staff to coordinate additional lighting work in the corridor with planned bridge work.
The Elgin City Council voted March 12 to approve a phase-2 engineering services agreement with Hampton, Lenzini & Renwick (HLR) to finalize design and prepare bid documents for the Kimbell Street traffic signal interconnect project.
City staff described the scope as linking signals along Kimbell Street between Dundee Avenue and North Grove Avenue, installing video detection equipment at five intersections, adding uninterruptible power supplies, replacing select signal posts, and installing nearly 2,000 feet of fiber to interconnect controllers. Staff said the city applied through the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) and was awarded nearly $600,000 in federal funding covering roughly 80% of project costs for fiscal 2026.
Councilmember Thorn asked whether additional street lighting could be added at a particular intersection to improve safety. Thorn said he ‘‘was there the other night’’ and recounted an incident; he asked staff to investigate additional street lights. City staff responded that a prior 2022 study showed that simply adding a couple of posts at that location would not achieve the needed lighting corridor; the estimated scope for a comprehensive lighting upgrade was about $1.1 million and staff said they would coordinate the lighting work with the bridge/rework planned for the Kimbell Street corridor.
Councilmember Martinez raised specific operational questions about preemption for first responders and whether the corridor would resynchronize after an emergency vehicle passes; staff confirmed the system will hold signals for emergency preemption along the corridor and then return to synchronized operation.
The engineering agreement was approved on a unanimous roll call vote (9–0). Staff said final design and bid documents will be prepared to comply with CMAP and Illinois Department of Transportation requirements for the 2026 project.
Ending: With funding largely in place for the FY2026 phase, staff will finalize designs under the HLR contract and coordinate corridor lighting and bridge work as discussed.
