Claar Hopes New I-55 Interchanges Will Alleviate Traffic on Weber Road

It’s always nice when someone offers to help pay the bill, and adding Plainfield’s name to an existing agreement between Bolingbrook and Romeoville will ultimately save local taxpayers more than a few bucks.

The Bolingbrook village board on Tuesday approved an amendment to an intergovernmental agreement pertaining to the funding and completion of phase one engineering for proposed interchange improvements along Interstate 55 at both Airport Road and Route 126 at Essington Road—currently, there is no interchange at Airport Road and only a half interchange at Route 126.

The Romeoville village board in June.

Costs for the first phase are estimated at about $2.6 million, with federal funding paying approximately 80 percent.

When the original intergovernmental agreement was signed between Romeoville and Bolingbrook, Romeoville was to pick up 41.6 percent while Bolingbrook was to pay 58.4 percent.

Now that Plainfield has agreed to help fund 38 percent of the project, Romeoville’s share will decrease to 27 percent and Bolingbrook’s to 35 percent.

The new interchanges would not be in Bolingbrook, but Mayor Roger Claar said the interchanges would help alleviate significant congestion that tends to build on Weber Road.

"We brought this idea up several years ago and have led the charge," Claar said. "I am personally convinced that this interchange would greatly alleviate traffic on Weber Road. There are a lot of people in north Plainfield and south Naperville that weave their way through 119th Street or Hassert Boulevard to get onto Weber Road to get access to I-55.

"If there were full, up-to-speed interchanges on Route 126, that would be a more natural way to travel for them during peak periods." 

The new agreement also adjusts engineering costs that were previously incurred by Romeoville and Bolingbrook. Under the terms of the agreement, Plainfield will get up to speed by paying $6,548 to Romeoville and $10,495 to Bolingbrook.

According to information provided by the Illinois Department of Transportation, phase one preliminary engineering and environmental studies (2011-13) are fully funded with federal and local monies.

But phase two, involving contract plan preparation and land acquisition; and phase three, which is construction, are not currently included in IDOT’s fiscal years 2011-16 funding.

The project’s study area includes 3.5 miles of I-55 from one-half mile south of Airport Road to one mile north of Route 126.The Airport Road/Lockport Road study area includes the span over I-55 and adjacent frontage roads.

IDOT’s timeline

• In 1999, IDOT prepared a feasibility study for the Route 126 interchange.
• In 2003, separate preliminary access justification reports were prepared for Airport Road and Route 126.
• In 2008, the Federal Highway Administration requested that Romeoville and Bolingbrook combine the separate studies into one phase-one study.
• In 2008, a feasibility study was prepared for Weber Road interchange improvements.
• In 2010, IDOT began a phase-one study for I-55 interchange improvements at Weber Road.
• In 2010, a phase one study of access improvements on I-55 within the corridor between Route 30 and Weber Road also was begun.
• The first public meeting on the potential I-55 improvements took place Feb. 22, 2011, at Romeoville Village Hall.