Clarendon Hills has been approved for a $1 million legislative grant for planned intersection improvements at 55th Street and Western Avenue.

The state grant was garnered with support from state Sen. Suzy Glowiak Hilton, D-24th, and state Rep. Martha Deuter, D-45th, according to Clarendon Hills Village President Eric Tech.

“Staff is working diligently with DuPage County to get the residents south of 55th Street safe access to the north side of town,” he said.

Village Manager Zach Creer said there is documented desire for improving this intersection, going back to the South of 55th Subarea Plan adopted in November 2017. He said a 2022 development proposal for a Dunkin Donuts, which was voted down by the Village Board after numerous residents expressed opposition, refocused interest in the intersection.

He said a tax increment financing district was established last year “as a way to find a funding source for the intersection improvements.”

“The intersection has a lot of car crashes,” Creer said. “It is a long distance between pedestrian crossings, and this area should be connected to the rest of the town. It’s still easily within walking distance of the train station and downtown.”

Creer said there have been 18 vehicle crashes at the intersection between 2019 and 2024.

A major component of intersection improvements sought by the village is the addition of a traffic signal.

“The Dunkin Donuts proposal was rejected, in part, due to concerns about children trying to cross there without a signal,” Creer said.

He said approval would be needed from DuPage County to add a traffic signal at the intersection.

“The warrants for a stop signal upgrade require a certain amount of traffic and a certain amount of crashes,” Creer said. “In order to justify the warrants for a signal, additional traffic needs to be anticipated.”

He said the $1 million grant from the state could take up to a few years to receive, and the village likely would use TIF funds to make up the difference between the grant money and any additional costs. The total anticipated cost of the project is design dependent, Creer said, with a basic traffic signal expected to cost upward of $1 million.

“However, adding lanes or straightening the road could be extremely expensive,” he said. “It’s somewhat development dependent. In order to justify the warrants for a signal, additional traffic needs to be anticipated from the redevelopment of the Tracy’s Tavern site (at the southwest edge of the intersection).

The village has continued to seek a developer for the former Tracy’s Tavern site.

“The last development proposal for a daycare seems to be on pause,” Creer said. “No new proposal has come forward. If the intersection improvement was unable to move forward, then the money could be repurposed to another village project. The grant is not dependent on any development.”

A new two-townhouse development has been approved by the village for an empty lot at 5740 Concord Lane, about a mile and a half from the 55th Street/Western Avenue intersection.

Community Development Director Ed Cage said the property is approximately 0.20 acres and is adjacent to a similar property developed in unincorporated DuPage County.

Estimated costs for the completed townhomes will be between $300,000 and $400,000, depending on upgrades and options, he said.

Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.