Utica roundabout delayed

Construction of the roundabout in Utica has been delayed and won’t begin until spring 2022.

Kyle Videgar, construction engineer for the Illinois Department of Transportation, confirmed Tuesday a few surprises unearthed during work at U.S. 6 and Route 178 have pushed back the construction timeline.

Videgar said underground storage tanks were unexpectedly discovered in early June. After working through the State Fire Marshal’s process, he said, the tanks were removed on Aug. 31. Work is still needed to relocate an Ameren high-pressure gas main. Once that is complete, Utica can finish utility relocations.

“With the remaining utility work, the actual construction project won’t kick off until spring 2022,” Videgar said.

Utica Mayor David Stewart said he had heard rumblings of a postponement and hopes to bring an IDOT representative to an October meeting of the Utica Village Board.

“With the winter months approaching and all the challenges and utilities and underground tanks, the village is on board with seeing a 2022 spring construction,” Stewart said. “The village would like to thank everyone for their efforts with this project.”

Construction of a traffic circle at Utica’s four corners first was announced in spring 2019, with Utica officials largely conceding that continuous traffic flow might be a better way to manage to the problematic volume of vehicles passing into the village and state parks.

At that time, construction was loosely targeted for 2020. The project, however, proved to be cumbersome — the village had to relocate nearby utility lines — and there were delays.

When asked about the revised timeline, Stewart said traffic “will always be an issue at that intersection” no matter what time of year construction begins.

“Traffic data will show that it’s one of the busiest intersections in the area,” Stewart said. “That being said, it’s tough to say when it’s best to commence work. With a spring-summer construction season, the weather is usually more cooperative allowing more work to be completed.”