Kendall County joins with village, park district to improve busy Oswego intersection

A busy intersection will be getting a much-needed traffic signal this year thanks to a combined effort of Kendall County, the village of Oswego and the Oswegoland Park District.

In addition to the signal, the intersection of Plainfield and Woolley roads will have flashing yellow arrows for left turns, pedestrian push-button countdown signals, and radar vehicle detection.

Construction is expected to begin this summer and be completed by the end of the year.

Plainfield Road, the subject of a 2022 traffic study commissioned by the county, is a county road.

Woolley at the Plainfield Road intersection is the main entrance into the park district’s 66.4-acre Prairie Park Community Park. There are two-way stop signs and pedestrian beacons here now.

Nearby along Woolley is Traughber Junior High School, the Oswego Police Station and the Oswego Fire Protection District office.

“I really appreciate the three governmental entities cooperating and collaborating on this intersection project. One alone couldn’t do it,” said Chad Feldotto, the director of parks and planning for the park district.

“Safety for traffic and pedestrians has become an issue in the intersection as the park has grown and population has increased south and east of the park,” Feldotto said.

The Kendall County Board approved the low bid of $370,827 for the intersection project from H&H Electric Company of Franklin Park in November. The bid was about 16% below the engineer’s estimate.

The village and park district each will contribute $75,000 toward the project. The county will pay the balance.

After the traffic signal is installed, the village will pay the electrical costs and the county will have lead agency jurisdiction and maintain the signal and lighting.

Fran Klaas, the Kendall County engineer, said residents’ concerns about traffic volumes, speeding and pedestrian safety on Plainfield Road led to county and village discussions about more traffic control on the road.

As a result, the county hired Rosemont-based Christopher B. Burke Engineering Ltd. (CBBEL) to study traffic on Plainfield Road between Grove and Collins roads.

CBBEL recommended a traffic signal at the Plainfield Road and Woolley intersection, and another at the Plainfield Road and Linden Drive intersection in the future.

“We’ve taken a wait-and-see position on putting a signal in the Plainfield Road and Linden intersection because the signal at Woolley likely will provide openings in the traffic so the Linden intersection will work better,” Klaas said.

CBBEL designed the Plainfield Road and Woolley intersection improvements.

Prairie Point Community Park is a major recreation complex for the park district.

It features 18 acres for youth soccer and football programs, two full basketball courts, four lighted baseball and softball fields, two sand volleyball courts, a 7,900-square-foot concrete skate park, a reservable picnic shelter, splash pad, sledding hill, 1.55-mile Prairie Point Trail walking/jogging path, and a volunteer pantry garden that provides over 1,000 pounds of produce annually for families in need in the county.

The park district bought the property for Prairie Point in 1999 and received two $400,000 Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grants from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to develop the park.

The PrairieFest community festival, put on by the park district at nearby PrairieFest Park, is held annually over Father’s Day weekend. It regularly draws 75,000 over the four-day event and upwards of 20,000 for concerts.

Among this year’s concert headliners are county music artist Deana Carter and alternative rock band Better Than Ezra.