Design

The primary purpose of the proposed project, Contract #60P75, is to improve the traffic safety and operations along with the movement of vehicles and pedestrians at the intersection and approaching roadways of IL 53 and IL 56, as well as alleviate roadway flooding for the next contract # 62B30. The need for the proposed action is due to the crash history within the project area, flooding, inadequacies of the current IL 53 / IL 56 intersection capacity, and roadway geometry south and east of the intersection and proposed ground accommodations for pedestrians and bicyclists as well as upgrading the roadway geometry to the latest highway standards. The project is located in unincorporated Milton Township that borders the Villages of Glen Ellyn, Lombard, and Downers Grove in DuPage County. The improvement along IL 53 south of the IL 53 and IL 56 intersection to Osage Drive is included tentatively as a separate contract (Contract #62B30).

The scope of work for the intersection improvement also consists of the rehabilitation of the existing bridge over the East Branch of the DuPage River on IL 56 which includes the removal of the existing concrete overlay and replacement with microsilica overlay, full and partial depth patching, removal of north sidewalk, addition of south sidewalk, the removal of existing pile supported approach slabs and replacement with full width approach slabs and all deck joints; reconstruction of the intersection of IL 53 & IL 56 and approach roadway at the four approaches to provide three 12 foot lanes in each direction from its current two 12 foot lanes with raised median along IL 56 and both raised and striped medians along IL 53. Additionally, dual left turn lanes and a right turn lane will be constructed at each leg on the IL 56 and IL 53 intersection. The proposed improvement will include pedestrian accommodations along with a proposed pedestrian bridge over the East Branch DuPage River on the north side of IL 56 to serve pedestrians and bicycles access to the adjacent Park District facilities. A 1,300 foot long Noise Abatement Wall mounted on Retaining Wall (Structure Mounted) will be constructed along IL 56 from Gray Avenue to Bob O’Link Road. Two noise walls will also be constructed along IL 56. One will be constructed on the median between IL 56 and the Frontage Road from Bob O’Link to Briarcliff Road and the other will be constructed between Briarcliff Road and Lloyd Avenue totaling a length of 920 feet. The proposed improvements will require modernization of existing traffic signals at the intersections of IL 56 / IL 53 and IL 56 / Lloyd Avenue as well as installation of two traffic signals interconnect systems to provide traffic flow progression.

The IL 53 extension south( contract # 62B30) of IL 56 includes creating two through lanes in each direction separated by a median along IL 53 from Park Boulevard to IL 56, realignment and profile modifications to IL 53 south of IL 56, pedestrian and bicyclist accommodations, and intersection and drainage improvements. The proposed alignment is shifted from the existing alignment westerly, creating a larger floodplain to help alleviate/minimize flooding. The estimated construction cost of the Contract #60P75 is $21 million and Contract #62B30 is $15 million. The total length of improvement is 1.8 miles consisting of 1.3 miles along IL 56 and 0.5 miles along IL 53.

The intersection improvement will be constructed in four (4) stages with a pre-stage before Stage I and Stage III and will not have traffic detours. The estimated duration of construction is two full construction seasons. The pedestrian bridge will be constructed first in Pre-Stage I followed by the construction of the roadway in the remainder of the stages. Two lanes of traffic in each direction will be maintained in all stages at all times on IL 56 and IL 53.

The improvements along the southern extension of IL 53 will be constructed in three stages, with the first two stages on each side of the roadway, with the third stage constructing the center of the roadway.

Owners of significant utilities within the project limits include Commonwealth Edison, Nicor Gas, Illinois American Water, the Village of Glen Ellyn, DuPage Water Commission, and Glenbard District Wastewater.

Temporary Easements are required for the intersection along IL 56 and IL 53 for grading purposes and at driveways for reconstruction of the driveways. Proposed Right of Way is required at the corners of the intersection for traffic signal equipment locations and along IL 53 for the sidewalk and shared use path. Proposed right-of-way is required along the west side of IL 53 for the entire length of the IL 53 southern extension contract # 62B30.

The intersection project is currently included in the latter part of the Department’s 2017-2022 Proposed Highway Improvement Program and funding is dependent on plans readiness, land acquisition and funding availability through the Department’s Annual Appropriations. The IL 53 extension contract is currently not funded.

The project will improve the safety, upgrade existing roadway deficiencies, enhance system linkage and lane continuity, accommodate roadway capacity demands and provide enhanced access for bicycles and pedestrians.

Green initiatives have been incorporated on this project by providing grass medians, tree replacement program for mitigation of removed trees, parkway ditches, noise abatement walls, re-use of suitable topsoil and embankment excavated on-site, installation of high efficiency LED traffic signals, and various Best Management Practices (BMPs). Another major green initiative is the greatly improved multimodal access and connection throughout the corridor by means of a continuous shared use path for pedestrians and bicyclists. This is particularly beneficial as means of providing access and safety as a connection to the Lombard Park District, Western Acres Golf Course, and Hidden Lakes Forest Preserve.