By Karen Haave
Will County transportation officials continue to search for ways to make Peotone-Wilmington Road safer.
A recent pair of horrific accidents aside, the heavily trafficked highway has been tagged for a slew of safety concerns, leading to a second round of meetings seeking public input for ways to fix it.
The first took place at Peotone High School. The second meeting is slated for Wednesday, October 16, from 4 – 7 p.m., at Wilmington City Hall.
Some 40 residents stopped by the PHS open house, “a very good turnout for this type of meeting,” according to Christina Kupkowski, Phase I Project Manager.
During the three-hour session, WCDOT offered several options for improving the intersections of the road, including:
- A traffic signal at the northbound ramp terminal at River Road and I-55
- An additional eastbound right turn lane at I-53 and River Road
- An additional westbound right turn lane and northbound right turn lane at I-53 and Kankakee River Drive/Peotone Road
- Adding left turn lanes on Wilmington-Peotone Road at Indian Trail Road
- Adding an eastbound right turn lane at Old Chicago Road and Peotone Road
- Adding left turn lanes on Wilmington-Peotone Road at Symerton Road
- Adding left turn lanes on Wilmington-Peotone Road at Cedar Road and Wilmington Road
- Adding left turn lanes on all legs of the intersection of US Rte. 45/52 and Wilmington Road
- Installing traffic signals at both ramp terminal locations of Wilmington Road and I-57
- Additional left turn lanes on Illinois 50 at Wilmington Road
WCDOT also offered suggestions for improving segments of the road, including:
- 12-foot wide lanes and 10-foot wide shoulders on Wilmington-Peotone Road
- A passing lane section with 12-foot wide lanes at “strategically placed locations” of Wilmington-Peotone
- Reduced roadway vertical profile grades and improved vertical curves to increase sight distance on Wilmington-Peotone Road
- Realignments north and south of Wilmington-Peotone Road with I-53 grade separation at River Road/I-53/Wilmington-Peotone Road
- Realignment south of Wilmington-Peotone Road with a railroad grade separation at Wilmington/I-50/Drecksler Road
- A railroad grade separation at River Road west of I-53
Interchange improvements included a partial cloverleaf at River Road and I-55; a trumpet at I-55; a diamond at Wilmington Road and I-57; a partial cloverleaf at I-57; and a diverging diamond at I-57.
For Denise and Chris Vieaux, the diamond at Wilmington Road and I-57 is the best solution, with the addition of a traffic light, for that interchange. The couple have lived in Peotone for 20 years, just off I-57.
Construction and opening of the $18M Peotone Travel Center in December 2023 was the beginning of commercial development the Village of Peotone plans for that area. While the Vieauxes might not have wanted a truck stop there, they said that since it is, they want it to succeed. But the increase in traffic has made it hazardous, and the trucks and engine braking have become a major headache.
“The engine braking goes on all night long,” Denise said, “and it’s loud.”
Also called Jake braking, engine braking is a technique for slowing down a car or truck without using the brake pedal. It creates a terrifying loud noise, and many towns, including Monee, have ordinances banning the practice.
With truck traffic expected to keep increasing, Chris noted, “Something needs to be done there.”
Comments like those are welcome, in fact, desired by WCDOT.
Project Manager Christina Kupkowski emphasized the need for resident input, saying it was “the number one thing” she wants the public to know. We want their input. We want to provide the safest project we can, with community input.
“We’ve taken the comments from the first meetings (in 2023) and we put together alternatives (for the public to consider). It’s a good starting point for the public,” she continued.
“But this is by no means the end of this,” she added, noting that actual approval of the final plans and construction start is a long way off. “We don’t have any construction at all planned. The earliest we could get anything out there…if everything went swimmingly…would be 2030.”
The three top concerns that surfaced after the 2023 meetings were truck traffic, speeding, and sight distance, she said.
As far as truck traffic goes, WCDOT cannot control it, but can “make it safer for all of the users involved.”
With speeding, Kupkowski continued, “We can provide safer areas for law enforcement. There are certain things we might be able to do with the Village of Wilmington and the Village of Peotone to reduce speed.”
At the same time, sight distance is all about reconstructing the road.
“That’s a part of this. That’s why we’re here.”
The accidents that occurred within a day of each other earlier this summer – one with a fatality and serious injuries – did not factor into this cycle of planning, she noted.
“We have acknowledged that they happened. They are not a part of this analysis, but they will be included in the next one.”
The Wilmington-Peotone Road study was prompted by more than the number of accidents.
“We knew there would be more truck traffic, and we knew there would be more growth in the area,” she said. “Wilmington-Peotone Road has been on our radar for quite some time.”
WCDOT will continue to accept input or opinions about the alternatives online at www.wilmingtonpeotonestudy.com or by calling Christina Kupkowski at 815-727-8476 or email ckupkowski@willcountyillinois.com .
