Streetscape work that has caused congestion and traffic delays through downtown Naperville for months is on track to finish over the next few weeks.
Since February, construction crews have been working on a comprehensive overhaul of Washington Street from Chicago to Benton avenues. Nearly nine months later, the project is in the home stretch, with work due to wrap up in November, according to Bill Novack, director of Naperville’s Transportation, Engineering and Development department.
As the project draws to a close, Novack warned that Washington will still be chock-full of crews and equipment bustling to finish work but assured there’s an end in sight.
“You’re really going to see a lot of activity in the next three weeks,” Novack said. “At that point, we should be pretty well done with the project.”
Streetscape work was varied and extensive. It included a complete reconstruction of Washington Street, the installation of new street lighting and the replacement of a 100-year-old water main along Washington, he said.
The project was spurred by the city wanting to tackle needed streetscape improvements downtown alongside the ongoing replacement of Washington Street bridge, which has been underway since May 2023. Knowing the bridge work would be causing traffic interruptions already, the city decided it’d be a good time to do both.
“We looked at it as an opportunity to get work that needed to be done in the next five years done at the same time,” Novack said.
Replacing Washington’s aging water main was of particular concern. Maintaining an 100-year-old water main “was basically a liability,” he said.
“The last thing we wanted to do was have a big water main break down there because that would have been a mess for a longer period of time,” Novack said.
The project as a whole came down to “taking care of the infrastructure that we have,” he said. “You know, our sidewalks were in declining condition. The road was in declining conditions.”
And by addressing those improvements alongside the bridge work, the city could keep traffic impacts from dragging on, Novack said.
“It was painful, I will be the first to say,” he said. “But the last thing we wanted to do was have more construction work … after we open the bridge next year.”
As of this week, bridge work — which has faced repeated delays — was projected to finish by May or June of next year, Novack said.
Seeing streetscape construction at least tied up in coming weeks is timely for businesses bordering the project, says Katie Wood, executive director of the Downtown Naperville Alliance.
“Having the work complete just in time for the important holiday shopping and dining season will be terrific,” Wood said in an email Wednesday.
Amid construction, the downtown alliance in partnership with the city and on-site crews kept affected businesses “informed throughout the entire process,” Wood said.
She assured that “construction crews worked diligently to minimize business disruption as much as they could,” including “working overnight for numerous weeks in the early stages, putting pedestrian ramps to each business with directional signs and regularly helping customers with access to businesses.”
Asked if the alliance received complaints over the months-long streetscape updates, Wood said, “Sure we did! How could we not?” But she added that, “We tried to quickly deal with any issues that arose — whether from businesses, residents or consumers to find a solution.
“Undoubtedly, construction can be a nuisance but if you look at it for what it is, that it’s progress under construction with a great outcome that everyone can enjoy in the end, it’s been all worth it. It’s been progress in progress but will now be done!”
