Residents Braces For Route 59 Construction

Getting around Naperville and Aurora will be a little bit more difficult over the next two years while Route 59 undergoes a massive overhaul.

A three-mile stretch of the major artery from Ferry Road to New York Avenue will be widened, an extra lane of traffic will be added in each direction and sidewalks will be installed as part of the $90 million project.

Dozens of businesses are located along the stretch of road, attracting 50,000 motorists a day, which is why the Naperville Chamber of Commerce has been pushing for the project for the past decade.

It's a lifeline of this community and the economic development that happens within the entire region. I think for years people have been watching the traffic back up and something needed to get done," Chamber CEO Michael Evans said.

The biggest improvements will occur at the I-88 interchange, where a diverging diamond configuration will be installed, the first in Illinois.

"Basically what it does, when you approach an intersection at a stop light, you will cross over to the other side of the road from where you usually travel on, and this eliminates many of the vehicle conflict points that exist," Naperville project manager Jennifer Louden said.

Officials say the changes should significantly improve the traffic flow along Route 59 when all is said and done.

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