Updates on road construction in Will County, Joliet

A lot of road repair is happening in Will County.

Gregory P. Ruddy, director of public works for the city of Joliet, is asking the community to be patient during the construction.

“At the end of the day, we’re hoping to end up with a better and safer product for the public,” he said.

Joliet has a number of resurfacing projects, including curb repairs and ADA-ramp replacements, as well as reconstruction projects, Ruddy said.

Reconstruction projects include excavating the entire road to install curbs, gutters and storm sewers and put in new roadways and asphalt, Ruddy said.

“We had a bit of delay on some of our contractors,” Ruddy said. “A strike at the local quarry limited the amount of stone we used for projects in construction this summer. The strike is since resolved, and work has picked back up.”

Many of these roadway projects are expected to be done by winter, although some most likely will “bleed into spring,” he said.

“We try to avoid leaving roads open during the winter,” Ruddy said. “If we feel we’re not able to complete it by the time asphalt plants stop, we schedule

that work for the spring.” Joliet has 75 resurfacing projects this year. That doesn’t include the 12 sections in Joliet where contractors are tearing up roads to install new water mains and replace lead service lines.

Unfortunately, each project comes with its own timetable for completion, which varies by scope and size, Ruddy said. A project with storm sewers will take longer than one without them. Long roads need more time to repair than short ones, she said.

Ruddy said the city does get calls about the time road are under construction, but those are addressed on a case-by-case basis, he said.

“People are out of their driveways for a number of weeks. That generates concern,” Ruddy said. “We try to work with residents to ease the inconvenience to them.”

[ Big lane closures coming for I-80 in Joliet ]

Ruddy said the reconstruction projects expected to be substantially completed in 2022 include Curtis Avenue (Raynor top Wilcox), Harwood Avenue (Cass to Sterling) and Washington Street (York to Eastern).

The Houbolt Road & I-80 interchange improvements are underway and are expected to be substantially completed in July 2023, Ruddy said.

Three road construction projects will have construction contracts awarded in September but work won’t begin until spring 2023. These include Parks Avenue (Elwood to Liberty), Dekalb Street (Pleasant to Center) and Dora Avenue (Woodruff to Garvin), Ruddy said.

Work on the 2022 Sidewalk Replacement Program has begun. But that likely will stop during winter and resume in spring 2023. Ruddy said.

In addition, a number of resurfacing projects, which include installing ADA-compliant sidewalk ramps, are scheduled in Will County as part of Rebuild Illinois, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Projects that should be completed by late fall include Illinois 53 (Bolingbrook Drive) from Interstate 55 to north of St. Andrews Drive and Independence Boulevard (Illinois 53) from Romeo Road (135th Street) to University Parkway, according to IDOT.

Projects that should begin in spring 2023 and be completed in the end of spring include Joliet Road from Interstate 55 to Sherman Road and U.S. 30 from Interstate 80 to east of Church Street, according to IDOT.