‘A huge win’ | Whitman Street to reopen after nearly two years of construction in Rockford

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A nearly two-year process to rebuild a stretch of Whitman and School streets complete with a roundabout and multiuse paths will wrap up early next week.

Whitman Street is slated to reopen to traffic at noon on Monday. Only minor finishing work and short-term lane closures remain on the $9.6 million project, which was funded with the city’s 1% sales tax for infrastructure. The city said Friday that it is the largest project to date funded by the special sales tax, which has been in place since 2007.

“The reopening of Whitman Street is an exciting milestone for our city and a major step forward in improving safety and connectivity on the west side,” said Alderman Tamir Bell, whose 13th Ward shares stretches of the road with the 7th Ward. “I appreciate the work of our Public Works team and all those who made this investment possible. As we look ahead, I’m committed to supporting projects in the coming months that build on this momentum — expanding connectivity, improving infrastructure, and strengthening the quality of life for residents across the 13th Ward.”

The project, which was led by N-Trak Group of Loves Park, reconstructed a roughly mile-long stretch of roadway from Avon Street on the west to Church Street near the Rock River. The city’s pavement condition index had previously ranked Whitman, which turns into School at Kilburn Avenue, as one of the most deteriorated roadways in Rockford.

Construction also included a so-called “road diet” to reduce traffic from four lanes to three as safety measure. A new 5-foot sidewalk was also installed on the north side, and an extension of the Mel B. Anderson Recreational Path was built from Talcott-Page Park to Church Street. Future plans will connect the path to the Rock River Recreation Path.

The city also built a single-lane roundabout at Whitman and Ridge Avenue. The city said that allows for traffic moving east on Whitman to now head north on Ridge, a movement that wasn’t previously possible with the signal-controlled triangle intersection.

They also say the traffic volume in that area will allow for vehicles to safely flow through the roundabout. Approximately 13,000 vehicles cross that intersection each day, according to Illinois Department of Transportation Daily Traffic estimates. By comparison, nearly 17,000 vehicles a day approach the Auburn and Main streets roundabout from its east side on Auburn Street.

Construction on Whitman also included sanitary sewer, water main and storm sewer upgrades, as well as lead service line replacements. There were also landscaping and gateway features at the neighborhood entrance, removal of a dilapidated property at Ridge and Whitman, upgraded railroad crossings and surface improvements.

The city said the project also improves sight distance and safety west of Ridge Avenue by reducing sharp curves.

‘A huge win’ and more to do

Alderwoman Janessa Wilkins, who represents the 7th Ward, said she’s pushing for the city to continue improvements west of School Street.

“One of the things I said when I first sat down and looked at all the drawings was why are we stopping at Avon?” Wilkins said. “Why are we not taking this all the way down to Springfield? Why are we doing just this piece of the road when all of that road needs work?”

Wilkins said she and Bell have agreed to utilize some of the street funding committed to their wards to repair School Street a block at a time.

“It’s a work in progress, but I want to make sure that we celebrate this win,” Wilkins said. “I know there are other roads that need to be done, for sure, that’s all over the city and all over the ward. But this is definitely a huge win and a huge investment to the west side of Rockford.”

The project was managed in-house by city public works staff and delivered on time and on budget.

The design consultant was IMEG, Fehr Graham served as water engineer and sanitary sewer work was done in partnership with Four Rivers Sanitation Authority.

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas