Pothole haters, rejoice! Repairs start soon

Crews will begin patching potholes along state roads in DuPage County next week as part of a nearly two-month repair program in three suburban counties.

The pothole problem is so vast that Illinois Department of Transportation officials had to hire outside contractors for the project, which covers more than 30 miles of roads in DuPage alone.

The total project cost is $16.3 million, but the DuPage component will run about $1.86 million, said IDOT spokesman Mike Claffey.

The program calls for 14 segments of state roads throughout the county to be repaired. The largest project is a segment of Butterfield Road from Naperville Road in Wheaton to Route 25 in North Aurora, Claffey said.

Claffey said that job could take weeks and will begin late this month.

"There will be daytime lane closures along that part, and traffic will be controlled by a flagger," he said.

Much of that Butterfield Road segment is only two lanes, so traffic could get congested, Claffey said.

Many Illinois thoroughfares were hit particularly hard this past winter, keeping pothole repair crews busy well into the spring.

Naperville Public Works Director Dave Van Vooren said the state's plans to repair a portion of Ogden Avenue between North Aurora Road and Route 59 won't conflict with any city road repairs. There is no shortage of pothole repair work to be done in Naperville, he added.

"We're never done patching potholes," Van Vooren said. "We saw more pothole activity in February and March than we've seen in previous years."

Both men blamed the heavy snowfall and multiple freezing and thawing cycles for the wear and tear on roads.

Claffey said the state agency had to "reprioritize" construction funds to cover the work.

"It took a tremendous toll on our system," he said. "It's pretty unusual to bring in an outside contractor, especially for this much work."

While most of the work will be filling holes, Claffey said some portions of the road construction may require complete re-paving if the damage is significant enough.

"Those will be small sections where we may resurface if the road is just very bad," he said.

Roads to be patched

22nd Street: Butterfield Road to Roosevelt Road

Lake Street: Walnut Road to York Road

Roosevelt Road: County Farm Road to Kirk Road

Route 53: 75th Street to St. Andrews Road

Route 53: Baker Hill Road to Nichole Way

Route 53: Lake Street to Interstate 290

Butterfield Road: Interstate 355 to Lloyd Avenue

Butterfield Road: Naperville Road to Route 25

Route 59: North Avenue to Hawthorne Lane

Route 83: Butterfield Road Bridge to Riverside Drive

Thorndale Avenue: Interstate 290 to Park Avenue

Route 30: Orchard Road to Blackberry Road

Ogden Avenue: I-355 to Belmont Avenue

Ogden Avenue: North Aurora Road to Route 59