22nd Street Reconstruction and Widening in DuPage County Creates, Retains 190 Jobs

OAKBROOK TERRACE - Illinois Transportation Secretary Gary Hannig, joined by local officials, announced today that the reconstruction and widening of 22nd Street is fully under way, with a goal of creating or retaining 190 jobs. The project was made possible through Gov. Pat Quinn’s Illinois Jobs Now! capital program.

“This important project to rebuild and expand 22nd Street will improve safety, decrease travel times and speed the delivery of goods and services,” Secretary Hannig said. “But the benefits in job growth and economic development will continue for years to come.”

The Illinois Department of Transportation in August started on the $14.7 million effort to expand 1.3 miles of 22nd Street to three lanes in each direction from west of Illinois 83 (Kingery Highway) to west of Illinois 56 (Butterfield Road). The road previously shifted between two and three lanes in each direction.

The improvements are financed through a mix of federal, state and local dollars. The federal portion was leveraged with matching state funds from Governor Quinn’s six-year, $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now! program. 

Through Oak Brook and Oakbrook Terrace, 22nd Street carries more than 55,000 vehicles a day. When the project is finished in October 2011, the road will feature six lanes with dedicated turn lanes and modernized traffic signals at Parkview Drive, Shops of Oak Brook Drive, Midwest Road-Summit Avenue and Butterfield Road. A new traffic signal will be built at MacArthur Drive. All of the traffic signals will be interconnected and synchronized to reduce travel times. A new, landscaped barrier median also will be added along 22nd Street.

Two lanes in each direction will remain open during construction, with continued access to local businesses. Temporary lanes will be used to keep traffic on the southern half of 22nd Street while the westbound lanes are rebuilt this fall. Construction will be shut down for the holiday season, weather permitting, between Nov. 24 and Jan. 2.

For more information about other road construction in IDOT’s District One, visit www. http://www.dot.state.il.us/road/update.html.