IDOT Previews Plainfield Route 30 Improvements

“It’s going to be a parking lot.”

That was the dire prediction Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) project manager Long Tran had for the future of the Route 30 corridor if something isn’t done to improve traffic flow through Plainfield.

The estimated 24,000 cars per day that travel the road could reach more than 34,000 over the next 20 years, IDOT officials said.

On Monday, Tran gave village officials an update on IDOT’s proposed plans for improvements to Route 30 from Route 59 to the I-55 interchange, saying the earliest the project will likely be completed is 2015.

Along most of the Route 30 corridor in Plainfield, the road is a two-lane highway. With a total price tag of nearly $40 million, the proposal calls for:

• From the west Frontage Road to Renwick Road – Four lanes, plus a two-way left-term lane and a 10-foot-wide multi-use path.
• From Renwick Road to Union Street – Two lanes plus a two-way left-turn lane and an eight-foot-wide multi-use path.
• From Union Street to Route 59 – Two lanes, plus a two-way left-turn lanes, along with an eight-foot-wide sidewalk to the west and a seven-foot-wide sidewalk to the east.

The project also includes intersection improvements at Lily Cache and Renwick roads, Trans said, plus bike paths.

Mayor Mike Collins and several trustees voiced concerns about IDOT’s plans to install a six-inch-high median at the intersection of Route 30 and the Frontage Road.

The median would require drivers to make a U-turn to get in and out of the nearby Mobil station, Collins said, and the same would go for motorists wanting to head north from Spangler Road.

“I don’t agree with that philosophy at all,” Collins said.

Plainfield Police Chief John Konopek agreed with the mayor.

“You’re encouraging cars to shoot through two lanes of traffic to get to that U-turn,” he said. “Especially during rush hour, you’re taking your life in your hands.”

Trustee Margie Bonuchi called the plan “a nightmare.”

But IDOT reps said called the maneuver a “controlled/signalized U-turn,” saying drivers would only have to cross one lane of traffic, reducing the number of what they called “conflict points.”

Village Administrator Brian Murphy, a Michigan native, said that type of traffic pattern is fairly common in his home state, and would function much like a traffic circle.

Murphy also noted that while the improvements are an IDOT project, the village will have to chip in a share of the cost.

“It will be an expensive project for the village as well,” he said, adding the village’s portion will come to “six digits very easily,” including an estimated $160,000 for roadway improvements and additional funding for sewer and water.

Trustee Garrett Peck urged IDOT to “keep an open line of communication” with residents, particularly those with homes close to the roadway near Route 59.

Tran said the project could go out for bid in June 2013, with work beginning eight to 10 weeks later, Tran said.

Construction would likely begin near I-55, since state regulations prohibit construction that would disrupt heron breeding season at the Lake Renwick Preserve. Tran said breeding season lasts from March 1 to Aug. 1.

 “If everything goes well, we’re expanding two construction seasons,” putting the completion date sometime in 2015.

Tran said he didn’t anticipate any road closures during the project, saying at least one lane of traffic will be maintained at all times during the project. IDOT officials also said homeowners whose driveways back up to Route 30 near Route 59 will also have access to their driveways throughout construction.

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