South Chicagoland Road Work

The month of May is scheduled to bring major road construction to both sides of the county line in South Chicagoland.

In Crete, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is hoping to start construction in mid-May, to replace the Deer Creek bridge on North Main Street.

“The earliest we would start would be May 12th,” IDOT Engineer Erica DeYoung said on Wednesday.

Just a few blocks North, from Ashland and Steger Road, to the Indiana State Line, should also see an overhaul in the coming weeks.

“I’ve reached out many times to the Cook County Highway Department about the poor conditions of Steger Rd, and it appears they are going to work on it soon, possibly starting May 2nd,” Crete Mayor Michael Einhorn said Monday.

Main Street in Crete, also known as Route 1, is a state highway, with IDOT in change of all maintenance, scheduling and redirection of traffic during construction.

“IDOT told us that due to the confluence of the two roads, it wouldn’t be possible to keep any lanes open on Main Street,” Mayor Einhorn said.

Motorists are encouraged to avoid going east around the construction zones.

“Our detour takes people from Exchange to Western to Steger and vice versa,” Ms. DeYoung said.

Mr. Einhorn also added that he and the Village of Crete are very grateful for the upcoming road work.

“I’m very thankful to the State of Illinois, IDOT, and thank you to Cook County Highway Department.”