All traffic lanes now open at Rt. 30, Orchard Road intersection; Montgomery officials question signal timing, new pavement

After more than seven months of construction all lanes of traffic are now open at the busy intersection of Route 30 and Orchard Road in Montgomery.

“The final surface has been completed. The lanes have all been open to traffic and the final (lane) striping is done,” Mark Wolf, the village’s director of public works, told the Village Board during a Dec. 12 meeting.

Contractors, however, will return to the intersection in the new year to replace the temporary traffic signals with permanent signals, Wolf said.

Contractors for the Kane County Division of Transportation (KDOT) began work on the project May 1.

Intended to improve traffic flow and safety, the project included the installation of additional turn lanes in the southbound lane of Orchard Road and in the eastbound lane of Route 30.

The intersection has been the scene of daily morning and evening back-ups and frequent collisions.

Village President Matt Brolley asked whether the timing on the temporary traffic signals can be changed to further improve traffic flow.

“Do they need to be adjusted? Can they do that with temp signals?” Brolley asked.

Wolf said he would bring up the signal timing issue with the engineering firm, KDOT officials and the contractors during their next meeting.

Wolf suggested the engineering firm could monitor the timing of the signals over the winter to see if it is adequate.

Board member Matt Bauman questioned the length of the new turn lanes at the intersection, suggesting they could have been longer.

Bauman said a resident he talked with also questioned the appearance of the new pavement.

“When they paved lane-to-lane there wasn’t a great meshing of the work and it looks like it is prone to failure,” Bauman said.

Board member Steve Jungermann said he has heard comments from residents about the “waviness of the pavement” in the new turn lanes.

“It’s kind of like being on Lake Michigan in a storm,” Jungermann said.

Jungermann said when he now drives through the intersection he “holds onto (the steering wheel) with both hands because I feel like I’m going to lose control.”

Wolf said KDOT officials are working with the contractor along with the engineering company to address the pavement issue.

The Illinois Department of Transportation owns and maintains Route 30, while KDOT owns and maintains Orchard Road north of Route 30, and the Kendall County Highway department owns and maintains Orchard Road south of the highway.