Butterfield Road Overhaul Ready For Spring Start

WHEATON - Illinois Transportation Secretary Gary Hannig was joined today by local officials to announce that the state is ready to proceed with the Butterfield Road widening and reconstruction, a project that will create or retain 910 jobs. The project was made possible through Gov. Pat Quinn’s Illinois Jobs Now! capital program.

“This important project on Butterfield Road will improve safety, reduce congestion and speed the delivery of goods and services along a busy state route,” Hannig said. “We are pleased to build a modern roadway and creating jobs in the process.”

The Illinois Department of Transportation recently finished removing trees along Butterfield Road (Illinois 56) so construction can start on the new eastbound lanes in the spring. The $69.8 million project will convert the two-lane, undivided highway to a four-lane highway with a barrier median from west of Illinois 59 to Naperville Road .The expected completion date for the entire project is November 2012.

Butterfield Road carries more than 26,000 vehicles a day through Wheaton and Warrenville. When IDOT is finished, the road will be reconstructed to two lanes in each direction with dedicated turn lanes and modernized traffic signals at all major intersections to improve access to businesses and residential areas. The bridges over the DuPage River’s west branch and Ferry Creek will be replaced.

The improvements are financed through a mix of federal, state and local dollars. The federal portion was leveraged through the governor’s six-year, $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now! plan. Federal grants also were awarded to build a bicycle trail to run along the side of the road.

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