For at least a decade, New Lenox officials have grappled with a busy, curvy three-way intersection where North Cedar Road and South Cedar Road meet East Haven Avenue.
But since a roundabout opened in early October, Mayor Tim Baldermann said the intersection has run more smoothly, despite some resident concerns that confusion on how to use the roundabout could be unsafe.
Baldermann, along with police Deputy Chief Tim Perry, said there have been no accidents or safety issues at the roundabout. Baldermann said he rarely sees backed-up traffic there anymore.
Residents previously said roads around the intersection were almost always backed up, drivers often got confused and didn’t know where to stop or go and some residents started avoiding the intersection altogether.
Baldermann said there has been some negative feedback that the roundabout occasionally gets backed up when an outbound train traveling from Chicago stops and shuts down Cedar Road, just north of Route 30.
He said it takes time for the train to stop and drop people off, which clogs up several roads, but he said even then there is less backup with the roundabout than under the three-way intersection.
He said he has received comments from residents that some drivers still don’t understand navigating the roundabout and try to yield to the incoming cars as they drive around the circle.
“People have to remember to keep moving once you’re in a circle,” Baldermann said. “You don’t stop.”
But overall, Baldermann said the interest in the roundabout has died down. He said in October he was fascinated by residents’ interest and involvement in the project.
“Now that they see it, it’s really no big deal,” Baldermann said. “Now we’ll be onto the text topic, whatever that may be.”
A roundabout was first recommended in 2018 by a New Lenox traffic study. Then Village Administrator Kurt Carroll said a roundabout would be the safest option and the village would seek grant money for a roundabout, that could potentially pay for 80% of the cost.
Baldermann said Monday the village accomplished this promise and said 80% of the funding came from federal and state grants, which he said saved several million dollars.
The project was originally approved for $2.7 million, but that that number increased to $4 million when the village had to purchase nearby properties for the project, Baldermann said.
Baldermann also said the roundabout can help the village manage its growing population, along with other road improvements such as an extra lane on Cedar Road and improvements on Nelson Road.
Traffic was projected to increase from 12,300 cars traveling through the intersection per day in 2023 to about 18,000 cars in 2050, according to the village in 2023. Officials also said accidents and issues with pedestrians occur at the intersection.
“We’re constantly trying to stay ahead of that growth with the infrastructure improvements,” Baldermann said.
Baldermann said landscaping work for the middle of the roundabout will finish in spring 2026 and include grass, a New Lenox sign that reads “home of proud Americans,” a water component and flag poles.
awright@chicagotribune.com
