Construction to start this spring on Woodstock’s Madison Street roundabout

The city of Woodstock has just about wrapped up securing the necessary right-of-way to move forward this spring with a roundabout project that city officials said is a top priority.

The construction of a roundabout at the five-way intersection of Lake, Madison and South streets will improve the “safety and functionality of this intersection,” Public Works Director Christina Betz said. Drivers can expect that congestion they previously hit at this intersection “will be greatly reduced” while also improving its overall safety.

The intersection saw 23 crashes over a 5-year span, many including injury, which led the city to explore its options regarding the intersection, according to an August 2019 post by HLR Engineering about the project.

Construction was supposed to take place in 2016 but the project stalled over property acquisition.In 2019, the Woodstock City Council voted to begin the eminent domain process.

The city of Woodstock since acquired acquired parts of three properties and two full parcels, city attorney Michael Smoron said.

Eminent domain proceedings are still ongoing in two cases, both just need to determine the amount of compensation to be paid, Smoron said. The properties include a former gas station and a wood-frame garage.

The city deposited preliminary compensation of $10,500 for part of one parcel and $24,000 for the other two parcels, he said.

“We are in discussions with the parties to hopefully arrive at agreements with both,” Smoron said. “Both groups have been professional and gracious in working toward a conclusion to allow the city to make this traffic improvement and lead to better traffic safety.”

The eminent domain process is a legal process that allows municipalities to acquire private property for public use. Once the eminent domain process is complete, Betz said the city can finally complete the long awaited roundabout project.

The city of Woodstock has secured all necessary right-of-way to move forward with the project, Betz said. The project was bid out with the January public bidding process.

The city obtained a federal Surface Transportation Program grant of $1.5 million for the project, which was estimated to cost $2.8 million, according to council documents.

The Illinois Department of Transportation bid the project in January and the lowest responsible bid was for about $2.755 million came from H. Linden & Sons Sewer and Water Inc., records show. The city also hired HLR Engineering for just under $320,000 for construction engineering services.