Closures set as resurfacing of 159th Street slated to begin Monday while widening project drags on
With a yearslong widening project on 159th Street yet to be completed, drivers can expect more traffic snarls once work gets underway Monday on resurfacing the busy street.
The first leg of the two-year, $5 million project will cover from 94th Avenue in Orland Park/Orland Hills and move east to Ridgeland Avenue in Oak Forest, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Starting in spring 2020, the portion of 159th from Ridgeland east to Pulaski Road in Markham will undergo the same work, according to IDOT.
The first week of work will require rolling lane closures in both directions between 94th and Ridgeland for curb, gutter and sidewalk repairs, according to IDOT.
Then, starting July 8, intermittent daytime lane closings will be needed for resurfacing the eastbound lanes from 94th to Ridgeland, according to the department. Once eastbound lanes are done, the westbound lanes will be completed, starting at Ridgeland and heading west to 94th Avenue.
The work on the first phase is expected to be complete by the end of October, according to IDOT.
The new construction comes as work continues on a project that got underway in 2016 to widen 159th/Illinois Rt. 7/U.S. 6 from Gougar Road, just east of Interstate 355, in Lockport to Ravinia Avenue, west of LaGrange Road, in Orland Park.
Traffic is still constrained to one lane in each direction in some areas west of Ravinia Avenue, as work continues on building new westbound traffic lanes.
IDOT also is overseeing intersection upgrades at four points along 159th that got underway recently and will include more turning lanes at some intersections and upgraded traffic signals at all four intersections.
That work is estimated to cost nearly $9 million and is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2020, according to IDOT.
Improvements are being made at the intersections of 159th and Pulaski Road/Crawford Avenue, Central Park Avenue and Kedzie Avenue, all in Markham, and at Central Avenue in Oak Forest.
The resurfacing work on 159th is getting underway as a major resurfacing project continues on Harlem Avenue/Illinois 43 in the south suburbs.
Also being completed over two construction seasons, the first phase will resurface from U.S. 30 in Matteson/Frankfort to 171st Street in Tinley Park and is scheduled to be finished this fall, according to IDOT.
Work is scheduled to resume next spring on the portion between 171st and 159th streets. The total project is estimated to cost $6 million.
