Naperville road construction revving up with start of Washington Street bridge replacement, other projects
A flurry of road projects are planned for Naperville this construction season.
Topping the list for 2023 is the long-awaited replacement of the Washington Street bridge over the west branch of the DuPage River.
The city plans to demolish and reconstruct the east side of the span this year, followed by the west side next year. The water that flows through the northern section of the DuPage under the bridge has been rerouted so crews can work beneath the span.
What won’t be happening this year in downtown Naperville is replacing four blocks of pavement and sidewalk on Washington Street from Chicago Avenue to Benton Avenue.
Complications with work on the underlying utilities caused the city to place a hold on that portion of the Downtown Streetscape project until next year, which shouldn’t be a problem since the bridge construction will continue through 2024.
On the north side of the city, the second phase of the North Aurora Road underpass project will get underway this year, replacing the 110-year-old Canadian National/Wisconsin Central Railroad bridge with a new structure that will span the newly expanded five traffic lanes.
Work still needs to be done this spring to finish widening the north half of North Aurora Road.
The $14.5 million cost is covered with federal highway funds and money from the cities of Naperville and Aurora and Naperville Township.
The work is necessary to eliminate the bottleneck that’s created on both sides of the railroad underpass.
Construction is expected to be completed in 2025.
There are $3.4 million in improvements planned for the pavement, curb and gutter, drainage and street lighting on Columbia Street from Monticello Drive to Fifth Avenue.
DuPage County is contributing $500,000 to the project.
Naperville will pay $1 million toward the cost of DuPage County upgrades to Naperville Road from Naperville-Wheaton Road/Ridgeland Avenue to Diehl Road.
The project includes roadway resurfacing, upgraded streetlights and the reconstruction of the city portion of the intersection.
DuPage’s $15 million pavement maintenance program includes work on Wehrli Road/College Road from 75th Street to Maple Avenue in Naperville, Lisle and Lisle Township; Ferry Road from Eola Road to Route 59 in Naperville, Naperville Township, Aurora and Warrenville; and River Road from Ferry Road to Warrenville Road in Warrenville.
The work is to be finished by October.
Naperville expects to spend $13 million on its annual street maintenance improvement program, including full roadway resurfacing and reconstruction as well as smaller scale improvements, such as patching, crack filling and microsurfacing.
Just under 13 miles of the 460 miles of municipal roads will be resurfaced, including Diehl Road from Mill Street to Naper Boulevard and Washington Street from Warrenville Road to Apache Drive.
Work also is planned on streets in the following neighborhoods: Saddle Creek, Country Lakes, South Pointe, Windgate, Woodlake, Cedar Glen and Old Farm.
Slated this year are $1.5 million in maintenance improvements to the Van Buren and Water Street parking decks and $850,000 in rehab work on the lower-level driving surface at the Naperville Municipal Center deck.
