Wheaton’s North Main Street Reopen to All Traffic

Southbound drivers on North Main Street will be gratified to learn the thoroughfare has reopened as work enters the final stage of Wheaton’s North Main Street Flood Control Project.

While southbound and northbound traffic now can traverse the thoroughfare, the area remains a construction zone, according to a release the city posted on its website Friday.

Crews temporarily will be shifting lanes of traffic while they place additional layers of pavement on the street, the release states. They also will be working to install sidewalks in the area, as well as to finish other work on the project. The city said the landscaping of the area will wait until the spring.

In its release, the city asked motorists to continue to drive cautiously when in the construction zone.

The southbound lane of North Main has been closed between Cedar Avenue and Parkway Drive since May, when crews began the $2 million flood-control project. The city’s Web page on the North Main Street Flood Control Project explains that the work involved replacing culvert pipes with a bridge. The channel of Winfield Creek also was widened, and the banks of the stream were stabilized to combat erosion,

The project is expected to reduce the frequency of flooding on North Main Street by directing stormwater downstream to Northside Park.