Plainfield rejoices as long-time work on Route 59 ends
By Bob Okon bokon@stmedianetwork.com July 30, 2011 6:58PM
Plainfield Village President Michael Collins (center) waves during a ribbon cutting to celebrate the long-awaited completion of Rt. 59 construction Friday, July 29, 2011, in Plainfield, Ill. | Matthew Grotto~Sun-Times Media
Major area road projects
Interstate 80 widening: The interstate will be expanded to three lanes in each direction between Routes 30 and 45. Completion date is Oct. 31.
I-80 resurfacing: Work from Route 30 to the Grundy County line. Work expected to end in mid-August. Total cost of both I-80 projects is $57 million.
Relocate Arsenal Road and Interstate 55 interchange: The interchange will be moved one mile south. Preliminary work is under way. Project cost is $68.7 million.
Route 30: Work is planned from New Lenox to Frankfort. Completion is expected in fall 2012.
Route 53 resurfacing between Hoff and South Arsenal roads: Starting Tuesday through Aug. 28, all traffic will be merged to southbound lanes. Between Aug. 29 and Sept. 30, traffic will be shifted to northbound lanes. Completion date is Nov. 1.
I-55 resurfacing: Southbound bridge over Kankakee River done earlier this summer. $4.9 million project.
I-55 Des Plaines River bridge inspections: Starting Monday, work will require lane closings during daytime hours for two to three weeks. Southbound bridge will be inspected first.
Article Extras
Updated: November 16, 2011 1:44AM
PLAINFIELD — One regional traffic nightmare is over.
Three years in the making, the Route 59 reconstruction project is for all practical purposes done. Plainfield, where the work has lasted the longest, celebrated Friday with a Route 59 ribbon-cutting.
“Right now, Plainfield is open,” Mayor Michael Collins announced at the event. “We’re ready for business.”
All lanes are open now, although there still can be occasional closures in the coming two months as work crews do final work on sidewalks and landscaping.
The event commemorated what is somewhat of a historic moment for Plainfield.
Route 59 has been widened to four lanes, which should get traffic through the heart of town quicker. The intersection where Routes 59 and 30 merge has been reconstructed to relieve a longtime bottleneck. And, Route 30 has been redirected, a project done a few years ago but one that gets truck traffic away from what has become a pedestrian-friendly downtown Plainfield.
While the reconstruction project has lasted three years, the effort to get the job done goes back probably a dozen years or more.
State Rep. Tom Cross, R-Oswego, remembered bringing state transportation officials to Route 59 at least 12 years ago to show what needed to be done. It was a reminder that Route 59 traffic was a mess before the reconstruction started.
“I said, ‘You’ve got to see how congested this is,’” Cross said, reflecting on past visits from state officials as he pushed for the road widening. “But this (reconstruction) will do what it is supposed to do. It’s good for the whole region.”
The $89 million reconstruction job covered a seven-mile stretch that ran from just north of downtown Plainfield through Joliet and to the south end of Route 59 in Shorewood, where a new Interstate 55 interchange was built.
The local impact was tremendous and not good while it lasted, said Cary Miller, who owns Miller’s Butcher Shop in downtown Plainfield.
“Even regular customers avoided coming downtown,” Miller said. But he hopes that changes now and thinks the improved road will help bring business back.
Victoria Morales of Crest Hill was walking in downtown Plainfield on Friday morning and said she loves the business district.
“I like the shops. I like walking and visiting the shops. I love the stores,” she said. But, Morales admitted, she has avoided downtown Plainfield in recent years because of the Route 59 traffic tie-ups.
Indeed, Johnny Galen, a personal banker at Harris Bank on Route 59, said one of the tasks during construction has been to soothe customers frustrated by construction delays.
“One of my responsibilities is to calm them down,” Galen said. “They get in there frustrated. We put out cookies, lemonade and coffee. We do everything we can to incentivize them.”
The reward is the immense traffic flow that now will be able to flow freer.
Anywhere from 25,000 to 38,000 motorists a day are using Route 59, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.
That’s one of the reasons Karen Mena just opened The Loft hair salon on the corner of Route 59 and Lockport Street this week.
“I love it,” Mena said. “I was worried about 59 being under construction. Now, it’s going to be so much easier for people to come here.”
Diane O’Keefe, regional engineer for the Illinois Department of Transportation, was one of the speakers at the ribbon-cutting event. O’Keefe noted the pre-construction congestion problems “as an ex-resident of Joliet. I would avoid this area. Now, as the mayor says, it’s open for business.”
“It was a tough three years,” O’Keefe added. “Now, we need to get the word out that the roads are open.”
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