▼

Highway Department

Show All Answers

1. Who do I contact if there is a problem with my road?

Public agencies have responsibility for roads on which they have jurisdictional authority. If you live on a state road, contact the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) at 815-284-2271. If you live on a township road, you should contact your Township Road Commissioner. If you live on a county road, you may call the Lee County Highway Department at 815-857-4141.

Emergencies

If it is an emergency, and none of the appropriate agencies can be reached, call the Lee County Sheriff's Department at 815-284-6631.

2. Who is my Road Commissioner?

If you know which township you live in, you can look up your road commissioner on our Township Commissioner page. If you do not know which township you live in, you can check on your real estate tax bill or contact the Lee County Highway Department.

3. What is the procedure for getting a new entrance to my property?

Different agencies have jurisdiction over different roads. If you live on a state road, call the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) at 815-284-2271. If you live on a county road or a township road you may obtain an Entrance Permit Request Form. Either mail, fax or deliver the completed form back to the Lee County Highway Department.

If your entrance request is on a township road, we will forward the request to the appropriate township commissioner. If your entrance request is on a Lee County Highway Department road, Lee County Highway personnel will check the area for sight distance, drainage requirements, culvert diameter, and length for the location given on the driveway access form request.

4. If I already have a driveway, but I want to make it bigger, do I still have to pay the fee?

Yes, by resolution all driveway access form requests require a processing fee.

5. Who installed culverts and extensions and what are the procedures?

If the Lee County Highway Department approves the driveway access request, you will be given a culvert installation design drawing showing you the proper installation details. You may determine that you want to install the culvert yourself or that you want to hire a contractor to install the driveway. 

Driveway Installation

After your driveway is installed the Lee County Highway Department will inspect your site to see if the installation was completed according to the design plan. If everything was installed or completed according to the design plan you will be in compliance with the access form procedure. If the installation wasn't completed according to the design plan, you will be notified stating what part of installation was not completed correctly and you can either:

• Correct the problem yourself within a reasonable amount of time
• Instruct your contractor to correct the problem within a reasonable amount of time
• Instruct the Lee County Highway Department to send their personnel to your site to correct the problem and bill you for all the costs incurred to rectify the problem

6. Where do I purchase culverts and bands?

Except for a new driveway entrance onto a county road (which requires a permit, permit requests are available under forms), the Highway Department does not sell culverts (or culvert bands) to the public. However, there are several suppliers available that will sell and can assist you with selecting the correct culvert for your situation.

7. Who do I make check out to for the fees?

Make all checks payable to the Lee County Highway Department.

8. How long after I turn in my forms and pay the fees will I get my 911 sign?

This depends on the workload the department is experiencing at the time. We generally estimate at least a month is needed to fabricate and install the sign. This time frame can be extended, if, for example, frozen ground in the winter prevents the proper installation of a signpost.

9. My mailbox was knocked down during a snowstorm. How do I get it fixed?

Occasionally during snowplowing, wet or heavy snow coming off the plow may push mailboxes over. Agencies plow snow only on the roads in their jurisdiction. 

State & Township Roads

If you live on a state road, call the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) at 815-284-2271. If you live on a township road, you should contact your Township Road Commissioner.

County Roads

If you live on a county road, you may contact the Lee County Highway Department and personnel will inspect the reported mailbox after the roads have been cleared of snow and ice. At this time we generally install a temporary mailbox until conditions allow us to install a permanent mailbox consisting of a 4 by 4 post and metal box.

10. What does "posted roads" mean?

Generally speaking, every winter with the cold temperatures the aggregate under the road becomes frozen, when warmer springtime temperatures arrive, thawing occurs, which in turn makes roads soft and spongy and unable to carry the heavier "gross axle" loads that the traveling public is accustomed to during the year.

Protection of Roads

It is the intent of the Lee County Highway Department to protect the roads under their jurisdiction from severe damage that heavier "gross axle" loads can do to the roads at that critical time during the spring thawing, therefore we install a spring "posting" weight limit restriction sign that substantially lowers the allowable gross weight per axle (total vehicle weight), from traveling our roadways.

11. If I don't see a posting sign, does that mean the road is not posted?

On all Lee County Highway Department jurisdictional roads, all roads that are being posted will have the spring weight "posting" sign attached to the existing weight limit sign, which is usually located at each end of the road, or it will be attached just below the stop sign at each intersection of the posted road. To view which Lee County Highway Department jurisdictional roads are not posted, check our Non-Posted Roads page. If the road you have question on is not on the list - it is posted. On Township Roads, check with your Township Commissioner to see if a certain road is posted. State designated highways do not get posted.

12. Is there a time when I can get permission to haul on a posted road?

Generally speaking, the answer to that question is no. Almost all loads are defined as divisible loads, meaning, you can remove a portion of the load to make it lighter, thus rules and regulations state that no permits may be issued to anyone that has a divisible load.

13. What are the posted road weight limits?

Weight Limits

Total gross vehicle weight is not to exceed 33,000 pounds.

Axles	Gross Vehicle Weight
2 Axles - Single Rear Tire	8,000 Pounds
2 Axles - Dual Rear Tires	18,000 Pounds
2 Axles - Farm Wagons and Fertilizer Buggies	9,000 Pounds
3 or More Axles - Dual Rear Tires	33,000 Pounds

Floaters

Axles	Gross Vehicle Weight
Axle with 1 Tire	9,000 Pounds
Axle with 2 Tires	18,000 Pounds

14. How can my organization join the Adopt-A-Highway program?

If you want to adopt a county road or a township road, call the Lee County Highway Department at 815-857-4141. If you want to adopt a state road, call the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) at 815-284-2271.

15. I accidentally drove in the fresh traffic paint. How do I remove the paint from my vehicle?

As soon as possible after getting paint from road stripes on your vehicle - wash the vehicle at a pressure car wash. This will loosen and remove most of the paint unless it has dried for more than a day. If the pressure car wash does not remove the traffic paint, allow the water to dry off the vehicle.

WD-40

Then spray the paint residue with WD-40 and allow the WD-40 to stay on the area for 1 to 3 hours and rewash the Vehicle with a pressure car washer. The WD-40 will soften the traffic paint without hurting the vehicle finish. If there is a heavy concentration, repeat the procedure.

Vaseline Petroleum Jelly

For heavy accumulations or traffic paint that has dried for several days, apply a liberal coating of Vaseline petroleum jelly to the dried traffic paint and allow the Vaseline to stay on the area overnight. The next day, take the vehicle to a pressure car wash and wash it. This should remove most of the traffic paint. If not, repeat the procedure.

16. How many miles of road and bridges does the county maintain?

The County maintains about 220 miles of County roads and 70 bridges.  The Highway Department also assists Township Commissioners who collectively have 906 miles of roads and 176 bridges. 

17. Who Plows in the winter?

If you live on a state or federal highway (i.e. US 52, IL 26, etc.), IDOT plows your road.  On a county road, the Highway Department does.  On a township, the respective township handles your plowing.  In a municipality, your municipality plows your road.  Please call appropriate agency with questions.

18. Can the Highway Department staff provide engineering design assistance or provide advice for engineering issues on my property?

No.  The department's staff only provides engineering services for County and Township road districts.  if you need engineering assistance, we advise contacting a local engineering firm who can provide you with the engineering services you need.

19. I need to hire a contractor to do some work on my property. Does the Highway Department staff have any recommendations?

The Highway Department doesn't make recommendations of which contractors to hire.  We suggest referencing friends, other engineers or businesses that have used contractors.

20. There is a dead deer in the ROW near my house. Will the Highway Department pick it up?

If it is the County ROW please contact the Highway Department.  If the dead deer is on another agency's road, please call the appropriate agency to see what their policy is.

21. Are there any regulations for installing a mailbox along the side of the road?

Yes.  You can find the regulations on the US Postal Service website at: https://www.usps.com/manage/mailboxes.htm.  Please pay particular attention to the design of the post as it needs to be a break-away post should an errant vehicle hit it.  Remember, you are responsible to maintain your mailbox and make sure it meets the current standards.