Mayor Argoudelis and the Board of Trustees broke ground for the 143rd Street East Extension on Monday with Representative Lauren Underwood, 14th District; State Senator Meg Loughran Cappel; State Representative Harry Benton; the Illinois Department of Transportation, and the Will County Governmental League.
The 143rd Street East Extension will provide a direct route between Route 59 and Route 126. When it is completed, the new east extension will be four lanes and include just under 7,000 feet of roadway, a bridge spanning the DuPage River, 2,000 feet of pathway, and new traffic signals located at the intersections of 143rd Street and Plainfield-Naperville Road and 143rd Street and IL Route 126.
This project is a key part of the Village’s Transportation and Mobility Plan and regional transportation planning. Its purpose is to reduce local and regional congestion while improving mobility and connectivity within the Village and surrounding areas. Due to its significance in addressing regional transportation needs, the Village has received over $50 million dollars in grant funding through various federal, state, and local funding partners.
“It is a pleasure to be a part of this project. It has spanned multiple administrations, and our focus has never wavered on building this roadway, Mayor Argoudelis said. Today, we recognize and celebrate that this new highway will have a profound impact on the Village in multiple ways. It will be a great engine of industrial development that results in the diversification of the Village’s tax base. It will also open our downtown to redevelopment opportunities without the heavy traffic – creating a higher quality of life for our residents.”
The 143rd Street East Roadway Extension, combined with other 143rd Street Corridor projects, also helps facilitate the future reroute of IL Route 126. By rerouting IL 126 to the 143rd Street corridor, the Village can achieve its vision of expanding a pedestrian and bicycle-friendly downtown. Traffic counts show that many trucks travel on key sections of Lockport Street and Main Street. Moving these trucks to the 143rd Street corridor will allow the Village to replicate the existing traffic-calmed streetscape on Lockport Street between Main Street and IL 59 onto Lockport Street, west of Main Street, and on Main Street between Lockport Street and IL 59.
Work will begin in the coming weeks and construction is expected to continue into 2025 with the roadway opening by the end of 2025.
For more information on the project, visit https://143corridor.plainfieldil.gov/
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