Farmers Weekly Review

IDOT officials unveiled their plans to reconstruct the Illinois 129/Interstate 55 interchange. Residents who saw the plan said they were glad it was finally going to happen. (Photo by Stephanie Irvine)

By Stephanie Irvine

 

The Lorenzo Road and Illinois 129 interchanges on Interstate 55 are scheduled to get much-needed facelifts if the Illinois Department of Transportation’s proposed $149.5 million plans come to fruition.

 

IDOT is currently in the midst of the first of three phases of the project, and it is scheduled to conclude with construction by 2030. Prior to the August 15 public hearing, the last public meeting for the project was held in 2020.

 

The proposed improvements include adding auxiliary lanes, reconfiguring the aforementioned interchanges, and improving drainage. A section of West Frontage Road at Lorenzo Road north of Kavanaugh Road will be permanently closed as part of the plan.

 

Phase I of the project is scheduled to conclude this year. Phase II, which includes final design and land acquisition, is projected to take approximately 24-36 months.

 

Proposed improvements would displace one business and one home. The environmental impact includes 16 acres of wetlands, four acres of hazard flood zone, and just over six acres of prairies. Sixty-three acres of agricultural land would also be affected.

“The proposed improvements along Interstate 55 have been a long time coming and will help alleviate some of the long-standing issues,” said Wilmington Mayor Ben Dietz after the open house.

“For our residents, restoring access to IL-129 and rebuilding Lorenzo will give residents three opportunities to access Wilmington from I-55. The two new interchanges will be built to modern safety standards and have been engineered well beyond today’s traffic needs.

“Most of us can remember how bad the Arsenal Road interchange used to be on 55 by Mobil compared to today’s improved traffic flow.”

Dietz said he was excited about the long-term opportunities for the community. On the west side of the interstate, he said, the city will have over 175 acres of prime real estate directly off the interstate.

“These sites are designated to be commercially zoned so we are not talking more warehouses; we’re talking services, retail, hotels, restaurants. Having the development out there gives Wilmington the economic boost that we can use to invest in our parks, roads, and infrastructure while having a buffer to keep our small town atmosphere and community in place while investing in our future.

Improvements such as those also will help keep trucks off our local roads, Dietz said.

“Will County is a national leader in transportation, and one of the side effects is we also have a ton of trucks on our roads. Truck drivers are just looking for the quickest way from point A to point B. Having improved access to the interstate helps keep trucks off the local roads and keep them on the interstate.”

Dietz said the city has been actively working with the county and state on getting our local issues such as the resurfacing of Baltimore Street.

“I am happy that the resurfacing project from Water Street east to Wilmington-Peotone Road will begin the week of August 26. The other major item the city is actively engaged in is the Wilmington-Peotone 2040 planning project and making sure that the county is focused on planning for tomorrow, not just fixing the issues of today.”

IDOT Project Manager Steve Schilke was present at the public hearing and said that for the most part, feedback from attendees was positive.

 

He noted that about a decade ago, IDOT removed a bridge on Route 129, cutting off travelers’ southbound access point.

 

Schilke explained that because of that closure, most traffic today gets off at Lorenzo Road and filters down the frontage roads to return to Illinois 129.

 

“We started this study to replace that bridge, but at the same time, there were operational issues that we noticed at Lorenzo,” Schilke explained, noting that they explored several options but ultimately, this was the preferred plan.

 

“We still have a lot of safety issues on this corridor. We’ve had a couple wrong-way maneuvers on 129, and now Lorenzo is getting to capacity, especially with the development pressure it has right next to it.”

 

As Schilke said, most residents seemed happy with the proposed changes.

 

Bill Luttrell attended the hearing with his wife, Rora, to learn more about the proposed changes.

 

“Years ago, they took out the exit going onto 129. We had lived in Braidwood at the time, and that was very much an inconvenience,” Bill Luttrell said.

 

“They said someday it would come back, but that was many years ago,” Rora Luttrell said.

 

The Luttrells, who live in Wilmington now and regularly travel I-55, were happy to see the improvements finally making some headway and noted that the changes are needed.

 

Similarly, Wilmington resident Jason Shipley attended to get a better view of maps and learn more about the timeline.

 

“I was interested in what they were going to be doing with the intersections. They had closed down Route 129 a long time ago, and it just kind of made it inconvenient for some people coming into Wilmington,” Shipley said.

 

“I like it, and it makes a lot of sense,” Shipley said when asked what he thought of what he had seen of the proposed plans at the open house.

 

The few in attendance who appeared critical, or at the very least skeptical of the changes, declined to comment publicly. Some expressed regret among themselves that IDOT didn’t identify and address infrastructure needs sooner.

 

Overall, IDOT plans to address safety, accessibility, and road condition and design at these two interchanges. Between 2018 and 2022, IDOT identified 297 crashes in the study section.

 

IDOT also provided 2050 traffic projections, which noted that traffic would be in complete gridlock at the Lorenzo interchange if no improvements are made.

 

“The majority of the trucks do go up north on I-55, so this will certainly help alleviate the safety and operational issues we’ve been noticing already at Lorenzo,” Schilke explained of the proposed changes.

 

Representatives from the City of Wilmington, a representative from the office of Senator Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet, and representatives from Openlands were present but did not provide comment.

 

Those who attended could learn about the project in a variety of ways. IDOT representatives invited visitors to watch a 10-minute video presentation of the project, as well as an exhibit area with posters that mirrored the presentation set up around the room.

 

In the center, large maps of the study area were laid out on tables for people to view, and off to the side, a court recorder could dictate public comments. IDOT representatives were available at every turn to field questions and address concerns raised by those who attended.

 

Those who could not attend the public hearing but are interested in providing a comment for the public hearing may do so online at www.i55lorenzoil129outreach.org by September 16.

Stephanie Irvine is a freelance reporter.

The current, often-confusing, interchange at 129 and 55.
(Photos by Stephanie Irvine)

Residents who attended IDOT’s open house on the reconfigured interchange quizzed IDOT officials.