South Illinois to be closed Saturday night as railroad tracks removed

 

A section of South Illinois Avenue will be closed Saturday night as a city contractor removes the abandoned railroad tracks that cross the busy roadway just south of the intersection with Lafayette Drive and Scarboro Road.

The work by Rogers Group Inc. should be complete by Sunday, a city press release said.

Workers will start installing traffic control devices to close the road and divert traffic to the detour at about 6 p.m. Saturday. The road, also known as State Route 62, or SR62, will be closed at roughly 8 p.m., the press release said.

“To minimize the inconvenience to the public, this work will take place overnight,” it said.

The road closure will require SR62 southbound traffic to be detoured right onto Scarboro Road and left onto Union Valley Road. Northbound SR62 traffic will be detoured left onto Union Valley Road and right onto Scarboro Road.

The press release said the detour routes will be clearly marked. Message boards will be located on SR62 to remind motorists of the closure so an alternate route can be taken. All residential and business properties will have access during this closure; however, streets will be posted for no through traffic, and some turn lanes will be closed on side streets.

“Motorists are requested to avoid the area and are reminded that delays should be expected as detoured traffic will increase the normal traffic volume on the streets used for the detour,” the release said. “Motorists are encouraged to use alternate routes of travel and to allow sufficient time to reach your destination.”

Bad weather could cause the scheduled work to be extended or delayed.

Call the Oak Ridge Public Works Department at (865) 425-1875 for more information.