RICHTON ROAD BRIDGE WORK – It took a little time to get set up, but by noon Wednesday, crane operators had completed positioning six beams on the new Richton Road bridge. Crete Township Road Commissioner Tony Recupito says setting the beams enables Coal City-based D Construction to prepare the bridge deck for pouring the deck in August. ‘The good news,’ Recupito says, ‘is everything is on schedule and the completion date should fall somewhere between the last week of September and the first week of October, depending on the amount of items on the final cleanup and punch list.’ Photo credit: Dennis Sullivan.
by Dennis Sullivan
editor@ewcnews.com
July 29, 2014
Corrected information at 8:47 a.m. Thursday July 31
Crete Mayor Mike Einhorn says he is attending a special construction-status meeting today to ask questions and voice concerns about a Will County road project that has shut down eastern access to the village’s downtown.
Einhorn, speaking at Monday’s village board meeting, said the Exchange Street “S” curve project, begun earlier this month, is hampering first-responders’ ability to promptly answer calls on the village’s far east and northeast side.
The $9 million project, originally scheduled for two years, responds to serious crashes on the “S” curve by replacing that double-curve section just east of Crete Road with a straighter stretch to the north. It also extends Cottage Grove Avenue north to meet the new Exchange Street section.
Exchange Street was closed to all traffic between Crete Road and Cottage Grove Avenue earlier this month for the project.
Einhorn told trustees, staff and the five residents attending the meeting the primary contractor had closed the roadway earlier than expected, “unilaterally” deciding to complete the project in one year.
Einhorn said closing that section, which controls access to Crete Road, could hamper first responders’ ability to respond promptly to serious police and fire calls.
The longer the roadway between Crete Road and Cottage Grove Avenue is closed, “the greater risk we run of having an event that could pose some liabilities,” he said.
Einhorn charged Gallagher Asphalt’s expedited project has also caused problems for AT&T, which didn’t anticipate having to move ducts containing cables, wires and transmission equipment to make way for installation of a box culvert bridge over a small stream.
Public Works Supt Phil Hameister said the ducts were uncovered during replacement of a 12-inch water main near the Triebold farm.
Plans call for Crete Township Highway Dept to take over maintenance of the original “S” curve because it provides access to several residences in unincorporated Crete Township.
In a related issue, Crete Police Chief Jim Paoletti reports that increased patrols on Richton Road — the official detour route — and Burville Road have resulted in 260 citations traffic stops, with 90 citations that included four DUIs and “multiple” felony and drug arrests.
In response to safety concerns, the Public Works Dept is erecting two “hidden driveway” signs on Richton Road.
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Original material copyright 2014 Eastern Will County News; all rights reserved.
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Eastern Will County News 
I’d like to see stats on accidents and fatalities on the S-curve. Unless we’ve not been privy to huge numbers of bad accidents, straightening out the curve seems like a pointless exercise … and a very expensive one. Don’t want to be anti-progress, but also don’t want to see more Illinois dollars go down the rabbit hole.