Construction along 159th Street in Homer Glen, Orland Park and Lockport is at least 10 weeks behind schedule, extending the woes of business owners and motorists in this 8-mile stretch until the end of 2018, officials said.
The $105 million state project, which started in 2015, includes replacing and widening the pavement from two to four lanes, from Gougar Road in Lockport to Ravinia Avenue in Orland Park, with a 28-foot median, new traffic signals, streetlights at major intersections, drainage work and relocation of utilities.
While the result — a four-lane highway from Interstate 355 to LaGrange Road — is expected to be an economic engine for these communities, business owners said they believe they can’t make up revenue lost since construction started.
Most of those businesses are in Homer Glen. Lockport administrator Ben Benson said that business community is on the west side of I-355, where a new shopping center is planned.
“We are suffering through it and hope to be here when it ends,” said George Muersch, of the Ace Hardware, 12121 W. 159th St., estimating that his business has dropped at least 20 percent.
In addition to diminished traffic, businesses have lost property, had phone lines cut, driveways blocked and parking lots damaged by construction trucks that use them to turn around, merchants reported.
According to Janie Patch, Homer Glen’s economic development director, the 159th Street corridor has an “interesting mix of businesses” that includes some retail, offices, specialty shops, day care and landscaping, equipment and tools.
Some have been in Homer Glen a long time and have loyal customers who have been affected, she said.
Patch said seven weeks already had been added to the completion date in the fall of 2017, and the contractor wants to extend it to 10 weeks to make up for the three weeks crews did not work because of the budget impasse in the state Legislature.
“Springfield did impact this project to the tune of three weeks,” Patch said. “The bottom line is they are on track to be done by the end of 2018.”
By then, all four lanes are expected to be open, which is what matters most to businesses, she said.
Crews are now working on the south side of 159th Street — the eastbound lanes — then will switch to the north side.
According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, 159th Street is on target to be completed in mid-2019, as weather permits.
There have been quite a few unforeseen delays — the relocations of utilities, the discovery of unsuitable material during excavation for the new roadway, improvements to the soil and the addition of a wall to stabilize the widened embankment, according to Gianna Urgo, IDOT spokeswoman. These unexpected elements added to the cost, which is not uncommon, but stayed within a “reasonable percentage” to the initial price, she said.
“There are things you can’t control — weather, utilities, state budget issues. But we’re in fairly good shape,” Patch said, noting that no businesses have closed because of the construction.
Merchants know to call her if they need assistance and the village is doing “everything we can to help them thrive and deal with inconvenience, and lessen the impact,” she said.
IDOT installed green signs at all driveway entrances, and the village of Homer Glen added yellow signs with the names of businesses.
“For people driving in this corridor, there is lots of visual clutter. You have to pay attention. It’s harder to find your mark,” Patch said.
Chad Allison of Wild Bill’s RV and Outdoor Center, 13515 W. 159th St., said Patch has been “an absolute bulldog” in resolving problems for businesses and making sure driveways remain accessible.
He said he knew “how bad it would be” when he bought the business formerly known as Wheel Go Camping in May 2015, and he put “significant effort” into making his shop a destination by focusing on fixing, renting and selling trailers, and he used advertising and social media to get the word out.
While others have suffered, his business has grown “quite a bit,” he said. He sold it in June to the national chain Big Tex Trailer World and will remain as general manager.
“If you relied on walk-in traffic, this would be a disaster. You have to let it go or you will make yourself crazy,” Allison said.
Still, he said it “stinks” that trucks will have a difficult time negotiating his narrow driveway, and that the new road will come right up to his front window.
Further east on 159th Street, Ace Hardware has a loyal customer base, but Muersch, the owner, said he does rely on drive-by traffic.
Business is “generally slow in July and August,” but this year it has been “exceptionally slow,” he said. “We are down 20 percent at least — and I still have to pay the same bills … electricity … taxes. Nothing else stops, whether we have customers or not.”
His driveway has been closed several times, and when the contractor walked off the job during the state budget crisis, a mound of dirt was left near his entrance, he said.
“It looked like we had no entrance. You couldn’t see the driveway,” Muersch said, noting that the village “has gone to bat for us since Day One” to resolve his issues.
“I don’t know what else they can do, other than plead with people to shop here,” he said.
Just having crews working in front of his plaza “chases people away,” he said. “This has not been a good situation. We are at the mercy of the state.”
The “worst of it” for Mark Johnson, vice president of Total Flooring, 13412 W. 159th St., was the five days when he was without phone service because the lines had been cut.
“That definitely cost me money,” he said.
Johnson said he is negotiating the sale of his land, which, like many parcels, was acquired by the state through eminent domain and quick-take procedures, in which the government takes the land it needs and settles on a price later.
Construction has driven people away, even though navigating the street is “not that bad,” he said.
“It’s always been two lanes, and it still is,” Johnson said, adding that it gets better after 3 p.m. when road crews are done.
At times the road is reduced to a single lane to accommodate the workers.
Mikey Dixon, manager of Kenwood Liquors, 12037 W. 159th St., suggested the village roll back its extra 1percent sales tax to give businesses and customers a break during this construction period.
“I’m a resident of Homer Glen and I avoid 159th Street. You know everyone is. It’s been a pain in the butt,” Dixon said.
“I’m not in construction. I don’t know how it should go, but it definitely has impacted our business. Our customer count is down. I’m not seeing a lot of familiar faces,” he said.
But such projects are a “necessary evil,” he said.
“I hope it will be great when it’s over, but we will never make that money back,” Dixon said. “We’ll get through this and I hope it will be better. I hope people remember us.”
Despite the hassles, some merchants can see a light at the end of the roadwork.
Johnson said he anticipated the road project when he opened his flooring business 10 years ago, and hopes it will result in more traffic and higher property values.
“This area can do nothing but build up,” he said.
According to IDOT, traffic counts in 2010 were between 17,500 and 22,100 vehicles per day and the expected volume for 2030 projects 20,000 and 33,000 vehicles per day.
Several “for sale” signs can be seen on vacant lots, and Patch said there has been “a lot of interest” in these properties now that the road is being widened.
There is the potential for mixed uses in this corridor — office, retail, commercial and housing, she said. As the roadwork ends, there will be more activity, and she is encouraged to see an international company such as Big Tex Trailers coming to 159th Street.
The village still needs to extend its water lines along the north side of 159th from Gougar to Cedar roads and sewer mains on Cedar and Gougar from 151st to 159th. Those projects soon will be open for bids, Patch said.
Even though it will take a while, Homer Glen is in a “sweet spot geographically,” she said, and with this widened road, it will have easy access to I-355 and Chicago.
The next road construction will be on Bell Road, a five-phase project, with widened lanes and improved intersections from 143rd to 159th.
“It will be really wonderful for the village, businesses and the community once those projects are done,” Patch said. “It’s impactful when it happens, but we’re glad when it’s over.”
slafferty@tribpub.com
Twitter @SusanLaffa
