Aurora Opens Up East New York Street For First Time in 2 Years
Under construction since 2013, East New York Street was opened Wednesday to near-capacity traffic usage for the first time in two years.
Improving the commute of the nearly 22,000 people who travel the main thoroughfare each day, the East New York Street Expansion Project was the latest in a series of infrastructure projects coming to completion in the City of Aurora.
“When we embarked upon this citywide infrastructure initiative, we knew two things,” said Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner. “We knew construction would cause some consternation because of detours, alternate routes and stoppages. We also knew the end results would be worth the temporary inconveniences and benefit Aurora for the next 50 years.”
The East New York Street project included the complete reconstruction of one mile from Asbury Drive to Welsh Drive, plus ancillary improvements to Welsh Drive, Kautz Road, County Line Road, Stoughton Circle, Jamestown Court, Vaughan Road and Vaughan Circle.
The new roadway is 71-foot-wide with two through-lanes in each direction, dedicated left-turn lanes, a landscaped barrier median, and improved drainage with a new storm sewer system and water main.
“We can all easily see the obvious features like the new concrete pavement brought to the site by over 1,000 concrete trucks, the 4,000 feet of new bike path and the 18-foot landscape medians,” said Aurora Director of Public Works Ken Schroth. “What we cannot see is the 5,000 feet of new water main that was installed to provide more reliable service. It was also constructed in the parkway, outside of the thru lanes, to better facilitate connection by future new development.”
In addition, the work includes new modernized traffic signals at Kautz Road and Vaughan Road that are interconnected and constantly feeding data back to Aurora’s Central Traffic Management Center.
This stretch of New York Street has also become a safer, greener and multi-modal thoroughfare with the addition of a 5-foot sidewalk on the north side and a 10-foot bike path on the south side for pedestrians and cyclists.
“Over the next couple of weeks final touches will take place, including adding streetlights, working on the retaining wall and laying brick pavers in the median,” said Schroth. “Sometimes this will require an isolated single lane closure, but as of today the majority of the project will have all four lanes open at all times.”
The $7 million project was completed with 80 percent of the cost — $5.7 million — covered through federal funding.
SOURCE: city of Aurora news release
About the City of Aurora
Located 35 miles west of Chicago, Aurora is the second largest city in Illinois with a population of 200,456. Aurora is known as the “City of Lights” because it was one of the first in the nation to illuminate its streets with electric lights. Situated along the Fox River and the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (Interstate 88), the city extends 46 square miles encompassing Kane, DuPage, Kendall and Will counties. Aurora also is home to six public school districts and seven townships. For the latest news, access to an archive of past news releases or to follow the city on Facebook or Twitter, visit the city’s website at www.aurora-il.org.
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