Claar on Boughton Construction: 'It's Not Looking Good at This Point'

Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar said he is becoming agitated at the snail's pace the Illinois Department of Transportation is holding when it comes to processing the necessary paperwork to begin construction on Boughton Road.

officials announced the $3 million project in February. Ultimately, the entire eastbound portion of Boughton Road from Sunshine Drive to Schmidt Road will be repaved in efforts to fix a rough portion of road that has drawn the ire of residents and officials alike.

told Claar they planned on expediting the process so crews could begin as quickly as possible. Claar has said that if construction delays too long, the project would be shelved until the spring.

Now, village officials are saying that IDOT is stalling on the paperwork.

"It's not looking good at this point," Claar said. "I don't really understand why all the people in IDOT (are taking so long) ... It's clearly been a slow process with lots of hangups. It's a straight forward project. A lane of traffic is crumbling. We're not trying to widen it. It' snot rocket science."

Mike Drey, the village's director of public works, said crews are essentially standing by, waiting for the green light to begin construction. 

The same crews that are constructing the new bridge on Weber Road are ready and willing to begin work on Boughton, Drey said.

IDOT is involved because the village is receiving a $2 million federal grant to help complete the project.

The road needs repair because of an underground ComEd junction box that has caused the eastbound lanes of Boughton Road to become bumpy each and every winter for the past several years.

When retail giants such as ,  and  began building on Bolingbrook’s west side, village officials quickly widened Boughton Raod to accommodate the spike in traffic.

But just a few years later, ComEd officials cut into the road to install a junction encasement that was required to provide enough power to the expanding west side of town.

That construction produced cracks in the road, which allowed water to seep in. When mixed with freezing temperatures each winter, that moisture froze and expanded, causing the land underneath Boughton Road to shift.

Claar said the project, when started, will take about two or three weeks to complete.