A $250,000 grant designed to promote historically “disadvantaged businesses” is spurring traffic safety improvements across several intersections in St. Charles.

The upgrades include greater accessibility to Norris Woods Nature Preserve.

The city will focus on six intersections identified in the city’s “Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan.” Project undertakings include roadway alignment improvements, upgrades in line with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the installation of flashing beacons enabling safer pedestrian crossings.

Chris Gottlieb, St. Charles public works engineering division manager, said each intersection undergoing improvements is located on two-lane roads.

He said rapid flashing beacons are preferred for enhanced safety because they are pedestrian-activated, meaning they grab drivers’ attention.

“That means they flash when there’s actually a pedestrian at the intersection, as opposed to constant flashing beacons, which are flashing all the time whether someone is there or not,” Gottlieb said during a March 2 committee of the whole meeting. “So they’re proven to have a better impact on traffic.”

The city was awarded the grant in September 2024 from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for the construction of pedestrian improvements.

The city will combine capital funds with the awarded grant money for a total contract cost of $344,727.

Contracts with Acura Inc. and Martam Construction, Inc. are subject to full City Council approval, however. Acura Inc. is a “disadvantaged business enterprise” meeting the requirements for the grant, according to the city.

More on work ahead

The selected intersections include Fifth Avenue and Fulton Avenue, Prairie Street and Eighth Avenue, and Seventh Avenue and Madison Avenue. The city is also improving intersections at Third Avenue and Horne Street, and Roosevelt Avenue and Illinois Route 31.

The sixth intersection, at Fifth Avenue and Johnor Avenue/Stonehedge Road, was chosen by the city to improve recreational opportunities.

The thoroughfare is a major bike and pedestrian crossing, which connects the new bike lanes on Stonehedge Road with the Fox River Trail at Norris Woods Nature Preserve.

The 75-acre nature preserve is home to several large red and white oak trees, some more than 200 years old, according to the St. Charles Park District.

City staff said work on the roadway improvement project should begin around May 1.

For more about the DCEO grant program, including what businesses are eligible, visit dceo.illinois.gov/illinoisinvent/sedi-and-cdb.html.