County Answers Residents' Pleas for Relief at Dangerous Intersections

NEW LENOX, IL — Drivers and residents calling for increased safety measures at two New Lenox intersections will see improvements in the coming months.

After a push from Will County Board Member Ray Tuminello, plans for stoplights at Spencer and Laraway roads, Gougar and Rte. 6 are closer to coming to fruition.

Bids for the former project are due by Feb. 15, with the board expected to vote during its March meeting, Tuminello said. If all goes smoothly, drivers will see a fully improved intersection with stoplight and lefthand turn lane by the beginning of the next school year. The project will be fully funded by Build Will, a program dedicated to improving roads and transportation in Will County. Tuminello declined to estimate what the improvements would cost, as the bids are not yet submitted.

New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann in 2015 approached Tuminello with residents' concerns about traffic and accidents at the intersection—specifically those of Peggy Manville, New Lenox District 122 Superintendent. District 122 has its largest campus just north of the intersection, Manville wrote in a letter to the board. The campus hosts nearly 1800 students in kindergarten, primary, and intermediate buildings. Manville referenced 20 buses frequenting the campus at staggered times throughout the day, which causes heavy congestion at peak times of the school days.

"When the campus opened 10 years ago, it was the District's hope that improvements would continue to be made to the road infrastructure near our site," Manville wrote. "As of today, very little additional development has occurred to improve road conditions, congestion and safety."

Tuminello requested location-specific accident statistics from New Lenox Police, who reported 30 accidents at the intersection from Jan. 1, 2012 through Oct. 1, 2015.

"Accidents ranged in the amount, but it was the severity of the accidents that was alarming," Tuminello said. "The staff at the Will County Department of Transportation was awesome. They worked diligently, and this was the result. Good government between four government agencies.

"This was a big win."

Also on the to-do list are stoplights at Parker Road and Rte. 6, and Gougar and Rte. 6. Work at the Parker Road intersection hit a snag last year with the necessary moving of utilities, but a contract has been awarded and drivers can expect full signalization, intersection improvements when the weather breaks.

Plans for a stoplight at Gougar and Rte. 6 are "fully engineered and ready to go," and Tuminello expects the project to go to bid as early as March, with potential approval at the April board meeting.