YORKVILLE – Construction is expected to resume soon on a 1-mile stretch of Fox Road in Yorkville now that a seven-week quarry workers strike has ended.
The project is designed to rehabilitate and upgrade the roadway from Route 47 in the city’s downtown west to the Fox Lawn subdivision.
Work by Geneva Construction of Aurora was suspended because of a strike by the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, which affected 35 Chicagoland quarries, mines and gravel pits.
The labor dispute halted the extraction of sand, gravel and crushed stone, used for the production of concrete, putting a halt to road work and other construction projects throughout the region. The strike ended July 26.
From Route 47 extending west, the roadway passes directly in front of the Kendall County Office Building at 111 W. Fox St., home to the county government’s administration.
The city street becomes a county highway after the west leg of the roadway bends to the southwest.
Once the construction project is complete, the city street will become a county road under an agreement between the city of Yorkville and Kendall County.
The city and the county are evenly splitting the $554,450 cost for the work under an intergovernmental agreement. Geneva Construction submitted the low bid.
The Kendall County Board awarded the contract to Geneva Construction on April 19 and work quickly got underway but was soon stopped after the strike began on June 7.
The resurfacing work includes 11-foot-wide vehicle lanes for the two-lane roadway, as well as 3-foot-wide asphalt safety shoulders, according to Kendall County Highway Engineer Fran Klaas.
There is also some curb and gutter work, as well as installation of a sidewalk on the north side of Fox Road from Morgan Street to White Oak Way, Klaas said.
When finished, Kendall County will own the roadway and maintain the pavement, pavement markings, signage, and any existing curb and gutter.
The city will continue to maintain the street lighting along the road and the traffic signal at the intersection of Fox Street and Route 47.
Farther west of the project area, the road extends into unincorporated Kendall Township, passing the Hoover Forest Preserve.
It finally takes a sharp dogleg before entering the Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area, where it terminates near the Fox River.
Right now, the road is closed in the area of that dogleg, where the roadway runs on a north-south axis and is being connected to the south extension of Eldamain Road as part of the bridge project, which also was slowed by the quarry workers’ strike.
“The critical thing is getting Fox Road reopened so people can use it in the winter,” Klaas said.
Source: The Daily Chronicle
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