A 10-month problem of traffic jams on narrow residential streets in Beach Park, caused by the closure of Sheridan Road over the Bull Creek culvert, ended earlier this month.
Even though the Illinois Department of Transportation closed Sheridan between Yorkhouse Road in Beach Park and Illinois Route 173 in Zion for the duration of the project, rerouting most traffic to either Green Bay Road — or Route 41 for large trucks — officials said many motorists did not obey the directions.
Beach Park Mayor John Hucker said when the project started in February, motorists familiar with the area initially used Talmadge Avenue as the “unofficial” detour, and eventually thousands of people including nonresidents began to take the same route.
Though the official detours were designed to keep through traffic out of Beach Park, Sheridan was actually closed only the length of the culvert between Wadsworth Road and Oak Forest Drive. Hucker said the situation made the “unofficial detour” possible.
“A semi-driver using his GPS got stuck in there,” he said. “He couldn’t make the turns and was constantly backing. One resident drove into his driveway, across his lawn and out of his neighbor’s driveway. Suddenly it’s not a problem anymore, but it was.”
IDOT finished replacing the Bull Creek Culvert under Sheridan in Beach Park, reopening the roadway on Dec. 5 in both directions.
In trying to persuade IDOT to leave at least a lane of Sheridan open during the project, Hucker said he was told the depth of the excavation to get the old culvert out and replace it with a new one required complete closure of the street.
“They cut down a lot of trees and widened the footing,” he said. “They widened the (multipurpose asphalt) footpath on the west side of Sheridan, and the sidewalk on the east side of Sheridan Road “
An important waterway, Hucker said a network of ravines wind their way through the village and into Bull Creek, which flows into Lake Michigan inside Illinois Beach State Park. It makes the culvert a very important part of the ecosystem.
Costing $7.8 million, the existing culvert was replaced with a triple-box culvert, according to an IDOT press release issued in January. Along with the culvert, new storm sewers were installed and ADA-compliant ramps were placed on both sides of Sheridan.
While there were ways to avoid the culvert project on Sheridan Road for many motorists — like taking Yorkhouse to Lewis Avenue, Lewis north to Wadsworth Road and Wadsworth back to Sheridan — Hucker said drivers continued to use Talmadge.
“People wouldn’t stop for school buses and ignored stop signs,” he said. “People stopped taking their walks there. There was a lot of tension, but roads are public ways paid for by the motor fuel tax. It was next to impossible to manage.”
With the Lake County Sheriff’s Police providing public safety services to the village through a contract with the county, Hucker said special patrols were requested. Some help was forthcoming.
“They sent extra enforcement,” he said. “Six people drove by a stop sign while the police had someone stopped for a ticket.”
