2017/08/28 - Mayor's Column: Construction Updates
“An Open Door to O’Fallon”
A Weekly Note from O’Fallon Mayor Herb Roach
This year has proven to be a particularly busy year for road construction. The City of O’Fallon works very hard to make sure that our roads remain in good shape and are able to handle the increased traffic that a growing community, like O’Fallon, experiences.
The City of O’Fallon attempts to perform most road construction during the summer months for a few reasons:
- More hours of daylight and dryer weather allow for more work to be performed and less delays due to weather.
- Traffic impact is considerably lower due to less vehicles traveling to and from schools.
- Some materials used in road construction are unavailable or more difficult and expensive to obtain in colder weather.
It is the City’s priority to complete each project on time, on budget, and with as little disruption to our residents, as possible.
While we try to schedule the timing of projects the best we can, many times, this timing is out of our hands and is set by the State of Illinois to coincide with their budget and project bidding process. And sometimes, in order to secure funding from the state or federal government, we are required to divide larger projects into multiple phases, spread out over a number of years.
Road construction can sometimes be frustrating and inconvenient, but like any improvement project, the long-term positive results will outweigh the temporary hardship. With any project, we plan and take steps to reduce any inconvenience that these projects may cause and we thank you for your patience and understanding.
Here are some of the larger construction projects that have recently been completed or are currently in progress.
Milburn School Road: Milburn School Road, from Savannah Hills to the roundabout at Merriam Parkway/Milburn Estates has been closed since the beginning of summer. The project to reconstruct this stretch of road to accommodate the increased traffic is moving along quickly and asphalt is currently being poured. Weather permitting, this project will be completed by September 30, 2017.
Green Mount Road: All lanes have now been paved and curbing on the boulevard median is going in. This project will be completed before the new HSHS-St. Elizabeth’s Hospital opens on November 4, 2017.
Highway 50: West Highway 50, from Old Collinsville Road to Hartman Lane has been resurfaced to repair normal wear and tear experienced on this busy stretch of road. Striping was completed over the weekend, so this project is nearly complete. All this work has been completed at night, so you may not have even seen crews working while traveling through this area.
Porter Road: The stretch of Porter Road from the Porter/Simmons roundabout to approximately Carriageway Lane is closed to reconstruct the roadway to accommodate the increased traffic in this area. The contractor has completed work on the stormwater infrastructure and should begin removing the pavement soon.
Regency Park: This stretch of road from Highway 50, south past Jack Schmitt Chevy has been repaved and reopened to traffic. This roadway will serve as an additional emergency route for the new hospital and ambulances, so it needed to be improved to handle the expected increase in traffic.
East 2nd Street: Crews have been working for a couple of weeks reconstructing East 2nd Street, between Lincoln Avenue and Vine Street. This roadway in downtown has been plagued with stormwater issues and deterioration of the roadway surface. The pavement has all been removed and a rock-base has been laid down. The Contractor is now pouring curbs.
If you are interested in more information about these projects or curious on how they are progressing, I encourage you to call the O’Fallon Public Works Department at 618-624-4500 Ext. 3.
As residents of O’Fallon, you should always be able to reach out to your elected officials and ask questions about what is happening in O’Fallon. Having open communications is important to me and something I care very deeply about. Thank you for reading, and please remember, my door is always open!