Butterfield Road project ending for winter
Construction on the $52.6 million improvement project on Butterfield Road between Wheaton and Warrenville will stop Friday for the winter season.
The good news for motorists is that an additional lane of traffic will open in both directions of Naperville Road at the intersection in Wheaton to accommodate winter drivers, Illinois Department of Transportation spokesman Guy Tridgell said.
“We want to provide as much traffic capacity as possible,” Tridgell said.
The original configuration funneled Naperville Road down to one lane in each direction during construction.
On Thursday, a roughly 700-foot stretch forced drivers into single lanes while electrical crews worked near the intersection by the Danada shopping centers.
Concrete barrier walls between northbound and southbound lanes will remain in place throughout the winter.
On Butterfield Road, curbs will prevent drivers from edging over the road into a median during icy conditions, Tridgell said.
Heavy equipment, including bulldozers, will be removed for the winter, but work zone speed limits will still be in effect.
With the cooperative weather this fall, crews have been able to work longer than usual, Tridgell said.
The project, on about a 6-mile stretch of Butterfield Road from Naperville Road in Wheaton to just west of Illinois Route 59 in Warrenville, is slated to resume in March, but that date depends on weather conditions.
Construction is expected to last until November. It will widen that stretch into a four-lane divided highway with a 30-foot grass median.