12th Street traffic in Streator will have to stop at Otter Creek intersection

Drivers traveling on 12th Street in Streator soon will have to stop at Otter Creek Road.

The Streator City Council approved at Wednesday’s meeting a four-way stop sign at the intersection.

City Engineer Jeremy Palm said there were concerns about how fast drivers were traveling on 12th Street past Otter Creek Road, which is one of the more well-traveled north and south routes through Streator. Otter Creek Road travelers always have had to stop to 12th Street traffic.

Palm also said Wednesday the reconstruction of 12th Street was complete. The $3.3 million project reconstructed 1.22 miles of the roadway, which serves as the county line between La Salle and Livingston counties, from Bloomington Street to Smith Douglas Road. Federal and state funds paid $1.87 million of the project. Additionally, the city received $903,542 for a Rebuild Illinois Capital grant in 2019.

With the new surface, Palm said drivers were moving past Otter Creek Road at a high rate of speed on their way out of the city’s limits, but still must travel past a number of residences. The posted speed limit at that intersection is 25 mph.

Mayor Tara Bedei said Wednesday she was going to remind residents to slow down near that intersection as part of her time to comment during the meeting, but believes adding a stop sign there should address the issue.

There was no objection to adding the stop sign, Palm said. The vote passed the council unanimously.