Work Under Way for St. Mary's New Traffic Signal

Work has started this week on the installation of a traffic signal at the Route 59 entrance to .

Church officials requested that the Illinois Department of Transportation authorize the light because of the huge number of people who attend St. Mary's, the largest Catholic church in Illinois. The church has agreed to cover the construction expense.

If all goes according to plan, the traffic signal will be operational by the end of the year, said Randy Jessen, Plainfield's superintendent of public works.

The Rev. David Medow, St. Mary's pastor, has said some 10,000 cars will enter and exit the church parking lot at 15629 S. Route 59 every weekend, a volume so great they've had to hire police officers to direct traffic.

In fact, church officials were so adamant about getting a traffic signal at the entrance that they paid for traffic studies to be done and have agreed to foot the construction bill, , when IDOT informed the parish that their request had been approved.

The entire project could cost close to $500,000, Medow said at the time. However, the price tag includes the expense of reconfiguring the road to add a right turn lane, erecting a new chursch sign and making parking lot improvements, he said.

Jessen said the village served as the church's representative in obtaining the job permit but otherwise the church will be overseeing the actual construction. They've hired P.T. Ferro, which has considerable experience with such work, he said.

"We're just coordinating the project for them with the state," Jessen said. "It's a pretty simple job. There's the removal of the curb and the widening of the driveways. ... They'll have to pour the foundation for the (signal) poles."

The traffic signal will be controlled by a fiber optics system that will be synchronized with the other lights on Route 59, Jessen said.

While the light will help parishioners who have difficulty getting into and out of the church parking lot, the bigger benefit is that it will make Route 59 safer for drivers, he said.