Messenger Woods Nature Preserve Opens After Road Replacement

HOMER GLEN, IL — The Messenger Woods Nature Preserve in Homer Glen is open again after the replacement of its entrance road.

The Forest Preserve District of Will County said the project started May 4 with the expansion of the Spring Creek floodplain. This work took place south of Bruce Road and will compensate for the loss of floodplain along the new entrance road. This area will be restored to prairie.

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The preserve was closed through June 17. The preserve said the old pavement was completely removed from Bruce Road north to the first parking lot, and the replacement work elevated the entrance road by about 12 inches.

Plans for the road replacement have been in the works for several years.

An extensive entrance road repaving project in 2011 was supposed to last many years, but it didn't, said Matt Novander, the Forest Preserve District’s chief landscape architect.

“We did that with the expectation (and) hope, really, that we would get some length and longevity out of the rebuild, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen,” he said in a news release. “Typically, roadways last anywhere from 15 to 30 years with progressive maintenance.”

Within about 10 years, water was already damaging the entrance road, and it was “in dire need of reconstruction” for several reasons, he said.

“The road as it was built was basically at grade and it didn't drain well and it went through a significant floodplain,” Novander said.

That’s why the new entrance road is not only higher, but also includes geosynthetic fabric and grids in the base layers to improve drainage, stabilize the rock and soil base and help prevent water damage to the new pavement, the preserve said.

The project cost $377,766 and is part of the Forest Preserve District’s 2025-2030 Capital Improvement Program, which is funded by a $50 million bond issue.