Oak-West Main Street Intersection to get new traffic signal

Anyone that travels Main Street in St. Charles west of Randall Road understands the difficulty that motorists face at the intersection of Oak Street. The issue is caused by three factors:

1. traffic volume on Main Street
2. traffic merging from four lanes to two just east of the intersection
3. cross traffic on Oak Street for patrons of Costco, the US post office, and Aldi.

When the Pine Ridge Park/Regency Estates development was approved in 2005, plans were made to install a traffic signal. In fact, the City collected approximately $800,000 from the developer for this purpose. The US Postal Service and former Amcore bank were also very interested in a traffic signal.

The City initiated the process, but, shortly thereafter, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) indicated that a signal could not be installed without widening the pavement surface and providing additional through lanes. IDOT mandated these improvements to reduce the probability of traffic backing up to the Randall Road/West Main Street intersection. This made the project much more complex.

Since that time, the City and IDOT have been working cooperatively to develop and engineer the revised plan. IDOT also took the lead on acquiring the necessary land from adjacent property owners. 

I am pleased to report that, this summer, construction will take place! The work will include widening the Oak-West Main Street intersection to five lanes (two through lanes in each direction and a center turn lane) and a traffic signal. The through lanes will taper to two lanes west of the Campton Hills Road intersection. Construction work is expected to begin in July and continue through the summer months. Exact start and completion dates will be established when the contract is awarded.

The improvements will make the intersection much safer for motorists and should improve traffic flow in the immediate area. Patrons of the U.S. Post Office, Aldi, and Costco will be able to access Main Street much easier. In addition, K Hovanian Homes (formerly Town & Country Homes) has acquired the former Regency Estates townhome development located north of the Oak-West Main intersection. The company has received City Council approval to build approximately 50 single-family homes in the area and will be constructing a model unit to begin sales activities in the months ahead. You can view the site plan here.