Plan For 'Very Dangerous' La Grange Intersection

LA GRANGE, IL – The state may start next year to improve the intersection of 47th Street and East Avenue, which a former village official termed "very dangerous."

In a memo released this week, village officials detailed local capital projects in the works.

The memo said the state Department of Transportation plans to bid out a project that would include traffic lights at 47th and East. The intersection is controlled with stop signs now.

The work is set to start in spring 2024, but will occur over a number of years, the village said.

The village has budgeted $175,000 for its portion of intersection improvements, including additional sidewalks and street lighting. The money will also go toward equipment that prompts traffic signals to give the right-of-way to emergency vehicles, according to the memo.

The village is seeking an updated construction cost estimate from the state for its portion.

At a June 2021 Village Board meeting, then-interim Police Chief Jason Cates called the intersection "very dangerous" and said he was "shocked" that stop signs, not a traffic signal, controlled the intersection.

"There's a lot going on at that intersection," Cates told the board. "What makes it even more difficult to get a solid grasp on how dangerous it really is, is that it's three municipalities that are taking traffic crash reports there."

In 2019, La Grange saw a high of 45 accidents at the intersection, the village reported.

"I can't tell you about how many Brookfield and McCook have experienced," Cates said at the time.

La Grange is on the west side of the intersection, while Brookfield and McCook take up the northeast and southeast sides, respectively.

In February 2022, Village President Mark Kuchler said at a board meeting that he opposed traffic lights at the intersection. He explained why.