It was fitting that a recent update of road construction in Aurora took place next to one of the city’s biggest ongoing projects — the Ogden Avenue bridge over the Canadian National railroad tracks on the city’s far East Side.
Even more fitting was the construction-related traffic backup outside along Frontenac Street caused by the construction.
“It’s a big one,” Ken Schroth, Aurora’s public works director, said of the project. “A lot of people use it.”
The overpass project is one of the big efforts in Aurora for the second construction season in a row. By the end of last year, the Illinois Department of Transportation had finished one-half of the bridge, meaning traffic narrows from the normal four lanes on Ogden to two while crossing the bridge.
But at least traffic no longer has to stop for trains on busy Route 34, and by the end of this year, the other two lanes of the bridge should be finished.
It’s another busy season of construction throughout the area, from local roads to the tollways.
In Aurora, besides year two of the Ogden Avenue overpass, the projects include:
*The Ohio Street bridge, another project in its second year. Schroth said the mainly local bridge should be finished by the fall.
*The Sheffer Road bridge, also a mainly a local bridge, although it is strategically located on Sheffer, just east of Farnsworth Avenue. This was supposed to be done last year, but was carried over into this year. Schroth said it should start “any week now,” and will be finished in the fall.
*The Eola Road widening, between Montgomery Road and Keating Drive, on the southeast side of town. Utility work is almost finished and ready for construction to start on this project, which will widen this section of Eola Road from two lanes to four lanes — the only part of the road that still is two lanes. Construction impact will not be great, because the road is already two lanes, but some turns and side streets will be limited at points during the construction, Schroth said.
*The Highland Street and Sullivan Road roundabout, which will transform this three-way intersection that gets backed up during peak traffic hours. This project will be delayed a bit, because city officials did not like the bids that came in, and will ask the City Council Finance Committee this week to reject the bids and start again.
*The Farnsworth Bridge interchange with Interstate 88. This large, two-year project will begin later this year, and will relocate the entry and exit ramps from I-88, and add traffic signals on the bridge. This is an Illinois Toll Highway Authority project.
*Sewer work on Galena Boulevard downtown, and along Downer Street from downtown to where it ends. While this is a sewer separation project, it will have one of the main streets through the East Side torn up.
*The parking lot on Aurora’s side of the Fox Valley Train depot, near Route 59, which will be under construction to build three new driveways along Meridian Lake Drive, and a traffic signal at Meridian Lake Drive and Station Boulevard. Reconfiguration of the lot would add about 400 new parking spaces, and move the Pace bus staging area. Most of the project would be done by the end of 2016, but minor improvements, such as new security cameras and landscaping, may continue into 2017.
Residents can keep track of the construction this summer on the city’s website, www.aurora-il.org. There is a construction update box to click on, marked by traffic cone icons.
Naperville does not have a lot of work planned this year, but what it does have will be inconvenient to both drivers and pedestrians.
The Water Street Mall project downtown continues, meaning both drivers and pedestrians will have to move around it. When finished, in addition to a new hotel, restaurants and stores, the area will have a new parking garage.
The pedestrian enhancement project on Washington Street, between Ring and Naper Boulevard, will cause lane reductions on that portion of Washington. The street will be reduced to one-lane in each direction for the duration of the project.
Construction will run from June to mid-November.
A lot of work is planned in Elgin this year, much of it already underway.
According to Illinois Tollway Communications Manager Dan Rozek, this year the Illinois Toll Highway Authority is scheduled to complete roadway work between the Elgin Toll Plaza and the Tri-State Tollway, or Interstate 294. That is 62 miles of newly rebuilt and widened lanes as part of the $2.5 billion Jane Addams Memorial Tollway, or Interstate 90, rebuilding and widening project.
Construction also includes continued work to expand and improve interchanges, to reconstruct the Fox River Bridge and replace local crossroad bridges on the I-90 corridor.
The Tollway plans to invest about $577 million this year to finish rebuilding and widening from six lanes to eight lanes the 25-mile segment between Randall Road and I-294, Rozek said.
On I-90, work in 2016 also will wrap up interchange improvements at Route 31, Route 25, construction at Barrington Road, Roselle Road and Elmhurst Road to provide full access in all directions, and a new interchange also is being built at Meacham Road.
On I-90, three lanes of traffic in both directions will be provided whenever possible, though temporary lane closures may be required at times. From the Fox River Bridge to Illinois Route 31 traffic is traveling on the westbound side of the road as the eastbound lanes of I-90 and the bridge are rebuilt and widened, according to Rozek.
Other Elgin projects include:
*The $95-million Fox River Bridge Project, rebuilding and widening the Fox River Bridge from six lanes to eight lanes, as well as making drainage improvements and replacing of the bicycle and pedestrian path under the bridge.
*The $19-million Route 31 Interchange Project, which starts this week with a new traffic pattern, Rozek said.
“While the ramps are being rebuilt, a temporary traffic signal will begin operating on Route 31 south of I-90, and ramp traffic will be rerouted within the interchange to provide continued access throughout construction,” he said.
Traffic shifts also will be put in place on ramps carrying traffic from eastbound I-90 to southbound Route 31 and from northbound Route 31 to eastbound I-90. Traffic there will be shifted onto temporary pavement for construction and will remain open to traffic, Rozek said.
*The Route 25 Interchange Project, which is reconstructing the bridge over I-90 in Elgin along with four interchange ramps, Rozek said. The bridge is complete and two lanes are open in both directions, but Rozek said construction will continue through summer “to complete drainage work.”
*Route 20 and McLean Boulevard, the single-point urban interchange project that should be finished sometime this summer, according to Illinois Department of Transportation Public Information Officer Gianna Urgo. The project began in late 2011. The single point urban interchange would have a single intersection instead of two existing intersections at the ramp terminal.
Elgin has planned for 12 capital improvement projects in 2016, funded mostly through a $25 million general obligation bond borrowing plan.
“Significant work has begun on six of the 12 projects, with all expected to have started by the beginning of July,” Elgin Senior Management Analyst Laura Valdez-Wilson said. “Although start dates for each project are staggered, all projects are expected to be complete in 2016. Several project areas, such as the Bluff City Combined Sewer Separation area, require multiple phases to complete all work and this will be completed over the next few years.”
Projects to date include the South Street extension, Bluff City combined sewer separation, Eagle Heights South street rehabilitation, Woodard/Standish area street rehabilitation, Central Business District streetscape project and Oakwood area resurfacing.
This week, rehabilitation projects will begin in the Easy Street/Lin Lor area and in the Plum Street/St. John area, Valdez-Wilson said.
Elgin’s two resurfacing programs will collectively provide a new riding surface to almost 18 miles of city streets.
In Elgin, the city’s Investing in Elgin outreach campaign “provides easy access to information, whether residents or visitors are interested in a high-level overview or daily updates,” said Valdez-Wilson.
The campaign is a combination of print, digital and in-person communication to inform people in Elgin of what work is happening.
As part of the effort, Elgin staff hosted four open houses in neighborhoods with scheduled rehabilitation projects and contacted each impacted resident via door hanger or letter.
“Since March 1, the city sent a budget and construction newsletter to Elgin’s 32,000 households, sent seven construction email updates, made 15 Facebook posts, 247 tweets on the city’s @ElginRoadAlerts Twitter handle and maintains a regular presence on city’s 311 mobile app to inform the app’s 3,200 users about general project information and daily construction alerts,” Valdez-Wilson said.
People can sign up for weekly construction email updates at http://bit.ly/1OVtlS0.
Overall, feedback from the public has generally been positive, as people are able to connect to information quickly and in a variety of channels, Valdez-Wilson said.
