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player ready...As the song goes “a little party never hurt nobody,” but it didn’t happen to coincide with the opening of the 95th Street expansion.
A couple of columns ago, my family’s experience along the closed 95th Street bridge/road expansion triggered a number of comments from readers. Some came to my family’s defense as trespassers. After all, noted reader Mark Lundeen, “the presence of people like you and your family on this vacant road can only make it safer and less attractive for vandals.”
Others admitted they too were trespassers — some almost every day. Another reader stated that he encouraged others to head out to the unfinished 95th Street road after he trekked along on the road on a bike ride.
Still others suggested a party of some sort to celebrate the road’s opening — citing the event that coincided with the opening of the I-355 extension in November 2007.
To celebrate the $730 million, 12.5-mile extension that linked I-55 south to I-80, the road was opened for a 5k run, a 1-mile family walk and a 20-mile bike ride. The event was dubbed as offering “three hours of car-free riding on pavement that has never experienced a traffic jam.”
Over 4,000 people participated in this once-in-a-lifetime event, according to Gary Kovener. The event was sponsored by the Illinois Tollway and the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation (now the Active Transportation Alliance).
Most significantly, he said, the contractors had “exhibits” of their equipment along with American flags to celebrate their workers’ participation in the project.
At the time, Illinois Tollway Executive Director Brian McPartlin said the money raised at the event would go toward a new bike trail system that would extend the length of the I-355 south extension.
According to Andrew J. Hawkins with the Forest Preserve District of Will County, that bike trail suggested in 2007 still has traction. On Oct. 22, the first of two phases of the bike trail were opened to the public. The trail runs from International Parkway to the Centennial Trail south to 135th Street in Romeoville all within the right-of-way that was designated with the extension of I-355.
Construction of an additional southern segment has completed one engineering phase. During the next two years, the second phase of engineering will occur on the additional segment while the forest preserve seeks grant money for the project.
On Monday, 95th Street opened with no fanfare and definitely no party. Only a few workers were present — some doing minor tweaks to the lighting and others taking photos of the road. A few motorists appeared right at 10 a.m. to cross it.
There is still hope for some type of celebration at that end of town.
Will County, the lead agency on the project, said there had been some discussions of a ribbon cutting with the road’s opening, but ultimately it didn’t happen. Maybe once the bike trail is fully connected, they said.
The extension to the DuPage River Trail should be completed in 2016. Bike trails going up all around us sound like a good thing to celebrate. Party, anyone?