Will County plans improvements on Cherry Hill-Mills roads, but some wish they wouldn’t

The Will County plan for the Cherry Hill-Mills road corridor would bring an improved roadway, could add center lanes for easier left turns, and provide sidewalks and bike paths for walkers and cyclists.

But many residents along the path fear it will just mean more trucks.

The omnipresent threat of truck traffic rumbling through residential sections of the Joliet area was raised once again by people attending an open house held by county officials on Tuesday to present various plans for the Cherry Hill-Mills road corridor and collect public opinion on which route they should pursue.

Some would prefer they do nothing.

“They’re just trying to develop the roads in preparation for the traffic they anticipate from that industrial park,” said Bernice Zaborski, a Cherry Hill Road resident for 50 years, pointing to farm land that she believes is slated for warehouse development.

The corridor includes warehouses already and abuts the large Cherry Hill Business Park. It also includes farm land that residents worry will be developed into warehouses that pour more trucks onto the roads.

Not so, said Christina Kupkowski, project manager for the Will County Division of Transportation.

“When I moved in, there was very little traffic. Now, with the employees at the warehouses, it’s zoom-zoom all day long.”

—  Joe Speedwell, Cherry Hill resident

Kupkowski pointed to weight restrictions in place now for a stretch of Cherry Hill Road that goes past the Zaborskis’ house.

“That means trucks won’t go there.,” she said. “That weight restriction is not going to go away.”

Residents, however, are wary of the ability to limit truck traffic with weight restrictions.

Joe Speedwell said semitrailers with empty trailers keeping them below weight restrictions go by his Cherry Hill Road house all the time. So do many of the employees at the warehouses that line a stretch of the road.

Speedwell has lived along Cherry Hill Road for 25 years.

“When I moved in, there was very little traffic,” Speedwell said. “Now, with the employees at the warehouses, it’s zoom-zoom all day long. They’re doing this (road project) for the warehouses.”

“It’s certainly not for the little guy,” said Stephen Zaborski.

The Zaborskis not only believe that the improvements will bring more traffic, including trucks, past their house. It also will bring the road 15 feet closer to their front door, chewing up nearly half of what is now their front yard, they said.

What residents want

The county has not decided how much the road should be widened. Different options are under consideration.

The roadway now is between 20 and 22 feet wide. The plans would widen it to anywhere between 24 feet and 36 feet. A center lane to accommodate left turns would require the 36-foot width, Kupkowski said.

“We’re really asking folks who live in the area what they think are the best of these alternatives to put in the design,” Kupkowski said.

Despite the fears of some residents, she said the county will base its plans in large part on what people who live along the road want.

A comment period for the public continues through Aug. 13. Residents can submit comments and questions by email to connect@millscherryhillstudy.com or by mail to Will County DOT, 16841 W. Laraway Road, Joliet, IL 60433.

The next public meeting on the plan will be held sometime in spring 2025.

At that time, county officials will present the public with what will be called the “preferred plan.” Kupkowski said the preferred plan will be based in large part on public input.

Construction timeline

Actual construction is probably six years away, although that schedule could be moved up or back depending on funding available for the project, Kupkowski said. Once started the project would be done in phases, taking anywhere from four to eight years.

The corridor slated for improvements runs about four miles through sections of Joliet, Joliet Township and New Lenox Township.

It goes from the heavily wooded residential area at Cherry Hill Road and U.S. 30 outside New Lenox to the intersection of Mills Road and Route 52 at Nowell Park in Joliet. On the other side of Nowell Park is Route 53, one of the heaviest traveled truck routes in the region.

Mills Road runs east-west to a point where it curves north and becomes Cherry Hill Road.

Along the stretch is a patchwork of residential neighborhoods, industrial area and corn fields that include such longtime landmarks as the Mancuso Cheese Company, the Joliet Job Corps Center and the Martin Campground. The Cherry Hill Business Park, one of the regions largest industrial parks, borders the route, which crosses Interstate 80.

Will County Board Member Sherry Williams, D-Crest Hill, a member of the Public Works and Transportation Committee, was at the open house.

“We know that trucks are everywhere,” Williams said, commenting on the dilemma that both public officials and the public face in grappling with transportation issues in the area.

Williams said she will be watchful to do what she can to ensure Cherry Hill-Mills road improvements do not open up residential areas to more truck traffic. But she acknowledged many of the people who live there think that’s what will happen.

“What I hear from the people,” Williams said, “is that they think the truckers are going to come through.”