Rt. 53 intersection improvements on the way

A busy Route 53 intersection in Joliet used by Amazon and Ikea workers should be equipped with traffic signals before the end of this year.

The plan for traffic signals, turn lanes and other improvements at Emerald Drive has been in the works for years.

“This project has gone in fits and starts,” Public Works Director Greg Ruddy told the City Council Public Service Committee on Feb. 28. “It originally started in 2016.”

The intersection improvements are linked to a plan to build a Speedway fuel center at the corner on the west side of Route 53.

But Emerald Drive also serves as one of two major entry points to the Laraway Crossings Business Park on the east side of Route 53. The business park is home to two Amazon facilities, an Ikea warehouse, Cadence Premier Logistics and other employers that bring in workers and trucks every day.

The intersection now has stop signs only on Emerald Drive.

The Public Service Committee recommended approval for a $2.3 million contract with P.T. Ferro Construction Co. to build the intersection and a $136,000 contract with Jacob and Hefner Associates for final engineering. The contracts are slated to go to the City Council on March 15 for a final vote.

Ruddy said Friday that the plan is to start construction sometime in the spring and complete the intersection by the end of the year.

The project is funded with the assistance of a $1.6 million state grant. Ryan Companies, which developed Laraway Crossings, and Speedway will split the remaining costs of the project. Speedway will pay its share with a sales tax rebate approved by the city in 2018, in large part to help pay for the intersection.

There also are plans for improvements at the Laraway Road intersection just to the south of Emerald Drive on Route 53.

Right-turn lanes will be added on Route 53 in both directions, Ruddy said.

But engineering for that project has not started, and Ruddy said there is no construction timetable yet.