The City of DeKalb invested heavily in road projects in 2022, continuing its commitment to improving streets. Here are some of the project completed this past construction season.
Downtown DeKalb
Lincoln Highway, between First and Fourth Street was narrowed from four lanes to three lanes, including a center turning lane. This calmed truck traffic through the downtown, making it more inviting to pedestrians. The fourth lane has been replaced by five feet of sidewalk space on each side of the road. An added benefit of this additional space is that it can be used by the downtown businesses and restaurants for sidewalk sales and outdoor dining.
The Knolls
New pavement has been laid in the main circle in the Knolls neighborhood. Resurfacing the remaining roads in the subdivision will continue over the next two construction seasons.
13th & 14th Street
North 13th and 14th Street, north of Clark Street, were resurfaced. Before the road work was started, the water mains and water services lines for both sections of street were replaced.
Fairview Drive
Two islands have been constructed at the intersection of Fairview and Monticello Drive, and a three-way stop has been installed at the intersection.
The project addresses concerns from neighbors about speeding and truck traffic. The islands slow traffic and discourage truck traffic while improving safety for pedestrians and those riding bicycles by allowing them to cross Fairview one half at a time.
Annie Glidden North
The City has furthered its investment in the Annie Glidden North neighborhood with two road improvement projects. Ridge Drive has been resurfaced from its west end to Normal Road.
A unique safety feature has also been added to Edgebrook Drive. A grass area has been built in the middle of the block with cul-de-sacs on each side. This will calm traffic while the grass area, along with the adjacent lot at 912 Edgebrook Dr., will create more space for neighborhood activities.
The projects are part of $4.4 million the City has invested in the Annie Glidden North neighborhood. Revitalization efforts have also included demolition of the vacant apartment building at 912 Edgebrook and razing the Campus Cinemas building and Hunter Hillcrest shopping center to create a combined lot for redevelopment.
Market Square Shopping Center
Running errands is a smoother experience in the Market Square Shopping Center now that all the common drives in the retail area have been resurfaced.
The work is paid for by the shopping center owners through a Special Service Area. In 2020, after hearing concerns from residents about the condition of the roads in the retail area, the City created the special property tax district for the shopping center to fund road maintenance.
Route 23 & Gurler Road
New traffic signals have been activated to complete the safety improvement project at Route 23 and Gurler Road.
The intersection has been fully signalized and widened to add turn lanes so it can more safely handle traffic for the Chicago West Business Center. While a traffic study predicted most of the new industrial traffic will travel through the Peace and Gurler Road roundabout, it found that safety improvements at Route 23 and Gurler were still justified. State funding covered nearly all the project’s cost.
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