Yorkville starts reconstruction today of the ‘Cannonball Curve’ to improve safety

YORKVILLE – Reconstruction of the infamous “Cannonball Curve” in Yorkville is expected to get underway today.

Eastbound traffic on Cannonball Trail will be shut down at Alice Avenue for the duration of the project, city officials said.

For area motorists seeking to avoid the intersection of Routes 47 and 34, Cannonball Trail is viewed as a convenient and scenic bypass.

But about a quarter of a mile west of Route 47, the two-lane road takes a sharp curve that has often resulted in vehicle accidents that highway engineers euphemistically describe as “roadway departures.”

Cannonball Trail developed as a farm road and is not up to modern design standards.

The engineering fix will involve softening the curve while widening and better defining the shoulders and adding rumble strips.

Reconstruction of the curve also will introduce a slight incline to the pavement to prevent vehicles from veering off the roadway. This banking of the road surface helps increase friction.

The cost of the project, including engineering, land acquisition and construction is about $500,000.

The posted speed limit on Cannonball Trail is 45 mph, although signs advise motorists to reduce their speed to 25 mph as they enter the curve.

For motorists traveling west from Route 47, the curve begins just in front of the New Life Church property. By the time a vehicle has negotiated the curve, it is headed in a more southerly direction toward Route 34.