Frustrations among students, faculty, and residents rise as construction continues in downtown Naperville.
In March of 2022, The City of Naperville began phase one of their “Downtown: Progress in Progress” initiative to improve the downtown Naperville area. The plan aimed to make the area more accessible, improve the “pedestrian experience” and repair both streets and utilities.
Initial plan
More than two years later, frequent downtown Naperville goers are still working around ongoing construction. Road closures and blockages continue to dull the experience and comfort of the city.
The construction and road closures have posed several challenges for students in the past, and this year, it’s no different.
Andrea Peguero-Gonzalez, ‘25, expressed some of her frustrations with the continuous construction through her experience as a commuter on campus.
“I tend to take time to go around in the neighborhood streets instead of taking main roads to campus. This usually takes longer than it usually would without construction because you have to go slower, but it beats having to go slow around construction and deal with the chaos. In general, I always have to come to campus hours before my first class because I get so anxious about new construction changes and parking,” said Peguero-Gonzalez, ’25.
Now a senior, Peguero-Gonzalez expressed disappointment that construction has taken place during more than half of her time at NCC.
Traffic
Road closures along Washington Street have caused severe traffic issues over the past few years.
More recently, North Central College hosted the annual “Crosstown Classic” between rivals Naperville North and Naperville Central High Schools. Traffic issues grew as visitors from both high schools drove and walked through downtown Naperville to attend the football game.
“The sudden removal of lanes always makes me frustrated, especially because it confuses everyone and causes a large amount of traffic and bottlenecking that takes a long time to get through. Merging quickly and cutting people off becomes normal and it is stressful” said Peguero-Gonzalez, ’25.
Faculty and members of the Naperville community also seem to share this sentiment.
“In general, I feel it makes people late to all kinds of things on campus. Not only that, but it makes it tough to walk from place to place, even if it is to get a snack or a meal. I see people having to take unconventional routes due to sidewalk closures all the time” said Peguero-Gonzalez, ’25.
Changes to the timeline
In addition to street repaving and utility updates, the city has also been working towards rebuilding the Washington Street Bridge. Progress began in May of 2023 with plans to complete construction in October of 2024.
However, in a recent article published for the Chicago Tribune, it was revealed the bridge won’t be completed until Summer 2025 the earliest.
With several delays, many assume that NCC community members are going to have to continue to deal with the frustration as construction persists in downtown.
“I really hope to see even, smooth and clear roads again. I am also hoping to see improvements on the size and look of the sidewalks around Downtown” said Peguero-Gonzalez, ’25.
