Ryan Ostry
Bugle Reporter
@RyanOstry_BR18
rostry@buglenewspapers.com
Several local residents gathered around from hear Randy Blankenhorn, Secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation, speak about the I-55 Weber Road upcoming project.
The event was co-sponsored by the Bolingbrook and Romeoville Chambers of Commerce.
This projects renovation will begin October 1 of this year where a lane will be added in each direction for less traffic flow, and the interchange will be rebuilt into a diverging diamond interchange.
“The diamond interchange is much more efficient, much safer and removes traffic a lot better,” Blankenhorn said.
According to the Illinois Department of Transportation website, there will be a 91 percent delay reduction in the morning going northbound on Weber, 39 percent going southbound, 61 percent going northbound in the afternoon and 42 percent going southbound.
The bridges will also be constructed in two phases according to the website, with stage one that will be constructing the west bridge and maintaining traffic on the existing bridge, while stage two will include shifting all traffic onto the new west bridge and re-decking the east bridge.
Lane closures will be in effect so pavement for the interim can be built to accommodate traffic.
“In the meantime, temporary traffic signals and pavement will be installed on the east side of Weber Road,” said Guy Tridgell, Director of Communications at Illinois Department of Transportation. “Once that is complete, the full stage will then be taken place.”
With this project coming to fruition, it is taking place to mitigate the congestion problem at the interchange.
As of now, cars and trucks have been backed up onto I-55 which is causing more of a safety problem for travelers.
“Our main goal is to alleviate the most amount of accidents we can,” Blankenhorn said. “If we make this congestion problem go away, then the reoccurring accidents problem should take care of themselves.”
Even though this project officially starts on October 1, Blankenhorn said that the utility movement and preconstruction work has already been taken place.
Delays will be eminent throughout the process according to Tridgell, but the goal is to maintain two lanes of traffic so there can be an active work zone for the next couple of years.
In total, the renovation is estimated to take two full construction seasons that includes all of 2019, 2020 and the end goal being ready by 2021.
“This project will cost about 68 million [dollars],” Tridgell said.
Blankenhorn said even though the construction will be a little messy, there’s a problem Romeoville and Bolingbrook need to address and the people see it and are excited about what the end result will be.
“This is going to open up Weber Road for further economic opportunity,” Blankenhorn said. “This has been and will be a difficult project but we’re excited about the feedback we’ve gotten so far and we know this will help a lot of people in the long run.”