A call from New Lenox officials to speed up a road-widening project on U.S. Highway 30 appears to have had little effect on the pace of work, Mayor John Nowakowski said recently.
The Village Board approved a resolution late last month objecting to a contractor’s request that the Illinois Department of Transportation extend the deadline to convert Highway 30 to four lanes from two between Church Street and Tonell Avenue in New Lenox.
The work, which began in the spring and included a new railroad overpass and bridge, was scheduled for completion Oct. 31.
“To no one’s surprise, I guess it’s at least a month behind,” Trustee Pat Flynn said.
Getting the roadway back to normal is a race against the weather now, Nowakowski said. Work will have to stop when the ground is hardened by frost and freezing temperatures, he said.
Meanwhile, traffic backs up, making it difficult to get to businesses on the south side of the road.
The occasional traffic snarls on Highway 30 might be making it difficult to take accurate traffic counts on other streets, Trustee Annette Bowden said. Many area motorists are deviating from their normal routes to avoid the construction area, she said.
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New Lenox officials say leaving the road in its half-done state would cause a hardship to drivers and businesses.