Work on John Deere Road is set to begin again, and the first sign will be a detour next week. On Monday, the Illinois Department of Transportation will close the I-74 ramp to go east on John Deere Road. Then, within the next two weeks, traffic will be moved to the new lanes of John Deere Road.
Construction Engineer, Dave von Kaenel, says four temporary lanes will be open between I-74 and 70th Street on the south side. And this year, people will get to drive on new pavement. A wall of concrete barriers will again separate the construction zone from traffic.
Last fall, McCarthy Improvement and the state DOT opened the new lanes to traffic ahead of schedule, right before Thanksgiving. The expansion of John Deere Road to six lanes is a $65 million project. And von Kaenel says it's on track for completion at the end of the construction season.