Yorkville plans Kennedy Road-Freedom Place intersection upgrades for 2023

YORKVILLE – Plans are moving ahead for an engineering project to improve safety at the intersection of Kennedy Road and Freedom Place in Yorkville.

The work will involve widening the intersection to allow for turn lanes, City Administrator Bart Olson said.

Construction of the project is slated for the summer of 2023.

The three-legged intersection is located in front of the of the Blackberry Oaks Golf Course on the west side of Kennedy Road.

Freedom Place extends east from the intersection and provides direct access to Grande Reserve Elementary School and the surrounding namesake subdivision.

The intersection is situated between the two driveways that provide access to the golf course and the Kennedy Pointe restaurant on the west side of the roadway.

A paved bicycle trail runs along the east side of Kennedy Road, crossing over Freedom Place at the intersection.

Olson said the intersection will be widened to maintain the two-way through lanes along with the new turn lanes.

Minor alterations may be needed for the location of the bike path as well as the median that separates the traffic lanes on Freedom Place, which create a grand entrance to Grande Reserve.

Those details will be worked out by Engineering Enterprises, Inc., of Sugar Grove which has been commissioned to design the intersection project.

The Yorkville City Council on July 26 authorized a contract with EEI for $99,572 to perform the engineering.

The cost of performing the work is now estimated at $1 million, according to a memo from Olson to aldermen.

Escrowed funds from road contribution fees from the Grande Reserve development will be used to pay for the project, Olson said.