IDOT Will Accelerate 159th Road Construction Project

HOMER GLEN, IL — The Illinois Department of Transportation has approved acceleration for the 159th Street improvement project in Homer Glen, according to Illinois Transportation Secretary Randall Blankenhorn. The village said in a release paving will start early this spring.

IDOT is expediting the Homer Glen project to substantially complete the new four-lane configuration by the end of 2018. The village said there will still be additional work items that will need to be completed in 2019 such as landscaping.

Recently, the village was told that the 159th Street project was on a trajectory that could take an additional year with completion not anticipated until the end of 2019. Mayor Yukich and the Chair of the Village’s Community & Economic Development Committee, Village Trustee Brian Burian, reached out to State Representative Jim Durkin and Senator John Curran regarding the concern over the impact to the community and especially the 159th Street businesses with another year of project delay.

According to the village, Representative Durkin and Senator Curran worked together to communicate the local concern to IDOT to facilitate getting the road project back on track.

“On behalf of our 159th Street businesses and Homer Glen residents, I extend our great appreciation to Rep. Jim Durkin and Sen. John Curran for their facilitation,” Mayor George Yukich said in a release. “Road improvements are never easy on the community. We have been greatly concerned for the business impacts especially from an increasingly protracted time frame on the road project. We are grateful for the mediation on our behalf by our state elected officials.”

Photo provided by the Village of Homer Glen.