Post by wvhsparent on Mar 19, 2008 8:40:54 GMT -5
More lanes planned for Butterfield Road
IDOT's plan has $63 million price tag
By James Fuller | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 3/19/2008 12:12 AM
A plan to widen a stretch of Butterfield Road through Wheaton and Warrenville is designed to reduce accidents and improve traffic flow, but it'll cost $63 million to do it.
Residents and officials of the two communities packed a public hearing on the issue Tuesday afternoon at Arrowhead Golf Course clubhouse in Wheaton on Butterfield to learn the details.
The road section runs about 6.2 miles from Naperville Road to Route 59. There are several subdivisions and long stretches of forest preserve along the road. The Illinois Prairie Path also runs parallel to the project, crossing under the road about midway through the project area.
The project will disrupt about 3.2 acres of flood plain and 2.5 acres of wetlands and require the purchase of 3.5 acres of public lands mostly controlled by the DuPage County Forest Preserve District.
Land acquisition will begin this spring and is expected to take up to two years to complete. Construction can't start until after all the needed land has been acquired.
The reason for the construction is the inability of Butterfield Road to handle the amount of cars and trucks that now use it. The project area already handles as many as 34,800 vehicles per day. By 2030, the road is projected to see up to 51,000 vehicles per day.
As a result, the Illinois Department of Transportation wants to add another eastbound and westbound lane to the stretch of road. That would create a total of four lanes, two in either direction.
The high-traffic intersection at Naperville Road would be even wider. The intersection saw the bulk of the 1,315 traffic accidents along the project zone from 2001 to 2006.
The project would install three lanes in either direction for 1,000 feet both east and west of Naperville Road.
Kathy and Alan Herbach said they believe that's a bad idea. They live in Wheaton's Stonehedge subdivision, near Butterfield Road.
"We have a safety concern with the addition of a lane on Butterfield coming down to two lanes," Kathy Herbach said. "Right now, it's two lanes coming down to one, and I think that it causes safety issues. I don't know why they're increasing it by one more lane instead of staying consistent at two lanes. Then you don't have the merge problems."
IDOT staff explained to the Herbachs that two lanes simply won't accommodate the traffic the intersection handles.
There'll be other improvements to the road, including a grassy median and new curb and gutter work. There also will be bridge upgrades over the DuPage River and more right- and left-turn lanes.
That doesn't mean interested parties won't ask for some concessions.
The Wheaton Park District has long wanted a traffic light at the entrance to Arrowhead Golf Course. However, the traffic counts on the road have never justified the light, despite the difficulties of turning left into the golf course. The traffic light is still not part of the plan for Butterfield Road's future.
Warrenville officials also want to tweak the plan. Mayor David Brummel said he's asking IDOT to narrow the widths of the lanes and curbs when Butterfield Road hits Warrenville. He also said he hopes to drop the speed limit from 45 mph to 35 mph.
However, Brummel said just seeing the project actually happen would bring him joy.
"It's holding up some development in town because people are waiting to see what will happen," Brummel said. "This has moved forward like a glacier moving across the continent."
IDOT's plan has $63 million price tag
By James Fuller | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 3/19/2008 12:12 AM
A plan to widen a stretch of Butterfield Road through Wheaton and Warrenville is designed to reduce accidents and improve traffic flow, but it'll cost $63 million to do it.
Residents and officials of the two communities packed a public hearing on the issue Tuesday afternoon at Arrowhead Golf Course clubhouse in Wheaton on Butterfield to learn the details.
The road section runs about 6.2 miles from Naperville Road to Route 59. There are several subdivisions and long stretches of forest preserve along the road. The Illinois Prairie Path also runs parallel to the project, crossing under the road about midway through the project area.
The project will disrupt about 3.2 acres of flood plain and 2.5 acres of wetlands and require the purchase of 3.5 acres of public lands mostly controlled by the DuPage County Forest Preserve District.
Land acquisition will begin this spring and is expected to take up to two years to complete. Construction can't start until after all the needed land has been acquired.
The reason for the construction is the inability of Butterfield Road to handle the amount of cars and trucks that now use it. The project area already handles as many as 34,800 vehicles per day. By 2030, the road is projected to see up to 51,000 vehicles per day.
As a result, the Illinois Department of Transportation wants to add another eastbound and westbound lane to the stretch of road. That would create a total of four lanes, two in either direction.
The high-traffic intersection at Naperville Road would be even wider. The intersection saw the bulk of the 1,315 traffic accidents along the project zone from 2001 to 2006.
The project would install three lanes in either direction for 1,000 feet both east and west of Naperville Road.
Kathy and Alan Herbach said they believe that's a bad idea. They live in Wheaton's Stonehedge subdivision, near Butterfield Road.
"We have a safety concern with the addition of a lane on Butterfield coming down to two lanes," Kathy Herbach said. "Right now, it's two lanes coming down to one, and I think that it causes safety issues. I don't know why they're increasing it by one more lane instead of staying consistent at two lanes. Then you don't have the merge problems."
IDOT staff explained to the Herbachs that two lanes simply won't accommodate the traffic the intersection handles.
There'll be other improvements to the road, including a grassy median and new curb and gutter work. There also will be bridge upgrades over the DuPage River and more right- and left-turn lanes.
That doesn't mean interested parties won't ask for some concessions.
The Wheaton Park District has long wanted a traffic light at the entrance to Arrowhead Golf Course. However, the traffic counts on the road have never justified the light, despite the difficulties of turning left into the golf course. The traffic light is still not part of the plan for Butterfield Road's future.
Warrenville officials also want to tweak the plan. Mayor David Brummel said he's asking IDOT to narrow the widths of the lanes and curbs when Butterfield Road hits Warrenville. He also said he hopes to drop the speed limit from 45 mph to 35 mph.
However, Brummel said just seeing the project actually happen would bring him joy.
"It's holding up some development in town because people are waiting to see what will happen," Brummel said. "This has moved forward like a glacier moving across the continent."