N. Aurora urges better toll access

Although preliminary construction has begun, North Aurora and the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority are set to sign an agreement as early as next week that will allow the widening of the Reagan Memorial Tollway.

However, some village trustees think the agreement could use a couple additions, including additional improvements to the toll access on Route 31.

Trustee Mike Herlihy said traffic on Route 31 northbound lanes turning left onto the tollway stacks up and stretches as far as Sullivan Road. Police Chief Tom Fetzer said the intersection has some of the highest accident totals in the village.

Village Engineer Jim Bibby said there will be "modest improvements," including re-striping and better coordinated traffic signals. However, the intersection will remain pretty much as-is after it is reconstructed.

It may be too late, he said, to add another turn lane or reconfigure the intersection.

Bibby said the agreement with the toll authority will repair the intersection, as well as replace the Route 31 bridge over the Reagan. Construction is set to start soon, but the bridge will stay open with only half being replaced at a time.

After a year of negotiations, Bibby said he was "very satisfied" with the agreement, which will also provide a traffic signal on Route 25 and South Street. South Street will also be relocated to accommodate pylons for the new Reagan bridge over the Fox River. The relocation will be done in order to keep several businesses open and without major inconveniences, he said.

Trees are also being removed and preliminary construction will soon start on storm water management on the west side of the river, he said.

After much debate, the agreement calls for all of the improvements to be paid for by the toll authority, Bibby said,

Trustees said they would also like more recognition that the Route 31 exit is in North Aurora. The village appears on a secondary sign, with markings for Aurora and Batavia receiving the larger sign.

"This is a simple fix and means a lot to the people of North Aurora," Trustee Dale Berman said.