Oswego is looking at design concepts to widen Wolf’s Crossing Road that include the installation of four roundabouts.
Wolf’s Crossing in the village is long overdue for improvements, Oswego officials said.
The majority of the road in Oswego connects two high schools, runs along three elementary schools and a middle school as well as residential subdivisions. About 1.3 miles is under the jurisdiction of Oswego Township.
Oswego Public Works Director Jennifer Hughes recently presented a road map for future improvements on the road, which could possibly see the road widened from two to as many as five lanes.
Most notable in the plans are four proposed roundabouts on the road at Harvey Road, Fifth Street, Douglas Road North and Southbury Boulevard.
Hughes said part of the process in coming up with the plan was to include input from residents, property owners and government agencies. The village created the Wolf’s Crossing Corridor Advisory Team that convened three times last year to review concepts for improvements.
The Oswego Village Board in July 2016 approved a $1.4 million agreement for phase I engineering services for the work on the road with Chicago-based Alfred Benesch & Company.
Hughes said members of the committee were asked about incorporating roundabouts into the design improvements.
“We got a resounding support for them,” Hughes said.
Hughes said the roundabouts are not conducive for all areas of the system, specifically at Roth Road where there is a historic church.
“We quickly realized a roundabout wasn’t practical at that location,” she said.
Hughes said the proposal suggests traffic signals at Roth Road and at Oswego East High School.
Hughes said the design concepts utilizing roundabouts create a “sense of place.” She said they are looking at “heavily landscaped” roundabouts, more so than what is typically found on medians such as on Orchard Road.
“We’re looking at building this quite a bit, this is speaking to our conservation efforts and nod to the environment,” she said.
The engineering consultants said the center space of the roundabouts offer an opportunity for elements that could “tell a story” about Oswego.
Hughes said they have spoken with the federal government about narrowing the width of the lanes from the traditional 12 feet to 11 feet because there isn’t a tremendous amount of truck traffic on the route and it would trim the cost of the project.
Hughes said on the north side of the revamped road there would be a multi-use pedestrian/bicycle path, and on the south side there would eventually be a sidewalk as the area develops.
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“We know the vast cornfields adjacent to the road are going to be developments at some point,” Hughes said.
Hughes said she met recently with federal and state highway officials. She expects final approval of phase one in the fall, which will be followed by phase two.
Hughes said the village has secured $2.5 million in federal Surface Transportation Program funds for design and land acquisition as well as construction for phase one improvements. Hughes said the village has budgeted funds to start phase two engineering for constructing the intersection at Harvey Road.
Hughes said once the phase one engineering is complete, the village can hire a consultant. She said phase two will include preparation of construction plans, specifications and bid documents.
She said right-of-way acquisition will be part of the process.
“The land acquisition process is governed by Illinois Department of Transportation policy and will not start before we are well into phase two. The timeline to complete the land acquisition is shaped by the number of parcels, the willingness of property owners to sell and available funding,” Hughes said.
Hughes said once phase two is complete, the village can proceed with phase three construction. She said phase two will take between one and two years to complete.
“We do not have sufficient funds available yet for construction. However, there are several state and federal programs from which we will be able to apply to secure additional funding once we complete the phase one study,” Hughes said.