'Constant' Problems Along Darien Road: Official

DARIEN, IL – A section of a state road in Darien is again having problems, which the state needs to address, an official said this week.

The road in question is North Frontage west of Cass Avenue. In 2021, two people died in a motorcycle crash in that area.

Over the summer, Alderwoman Mary Sullivan reported "subtle progress" when the state posted signs warning drivers of a sharp curve. Speed limit signs were also added.

Recently, though, Sullivan said a neighbor alerted her to continuing issues with the fence on the curve.

Several areas of the fence have been struck, repaired and then hit again, Sullivan said.

"It continues to happen, and we haven't even had the bad weather yet," Sullivan said at Monday's City Council meeting. "It seems like a constant situation."

She said she would like city officials to sit down with their counterparts from the state Department of Transportation for a more permanent solution.

Mayor Joseph Marchese said he liked the meeting idea.

Early the morning of Sept. 27, 2021, a passerby saw a motorcycle in a ditch between North Frontage Road and the Cass Avenue ramp to southbound Interstate 55. As it turned out, a man and a woman died in a crash.

They were believed to have been heading east on North Frontage Road about 14 hours earlier.