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state
Next phase of construction along I-80 to begin by gRace KinnicUtt
Capitol News Illinois
Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday announced the beginning of the next phase of construction along the Interstate 80 corridor that will modernize Houbolt Road in Joliet. The state investment in the public-private partnership is $32 million, according to the governor, who continues to highlight the ongoing benefits of one of his major first-year legislative accomplishment, the Rebuild Illinois capital infrastructure plan. The infrastructure plan passed with bipartisan support in 2019. The state’s investment will widen the road and reconfigure the I-80 interchange into a diverging, diamond design. “This project will go a long way to alleviate congestion and improve safety,” Omer Osman, Illinois Department of Transportation director, said. “The work that will be taking place here over the next several years is transformational.” Improvements are expected to minimize emissions caused by traffic, cut down a long commute, make the daily drive safer and provide more business to the surrounding communities. “These improvements are making it safer and more efficient for truck drivers [and] tens of thousands of commuters and families who drive this interstate as they navigate their daily lives,” Pritzker said. CenterPoint Properties, an inland port where goods are transferred between freight trains, is investing up to $170 million that will go towards building a new toll bridge on Houbolt Road over the Des Plaines River. The toll bridge will provide I-80 access to CenterPoint’s intermodal facilities in Joliet and Elwood that will bring more opportunities to workers, logistic companies and industries that rely on the infrastructure of the region.
“I’m happy to see the progress being made on the construction of the Houbolt Road Bridge. We know, moving forward, the critical role this will play as development continues around the two intermodal ports in our region,” Joliet Mayor Bob O’Dekirk said. A portion of I-80 to U.S. Route 6 is expected to be completed this October with a portion of I-80 and the interchange to be completed by the summer of 2023. Work is expected to begin on Houbolt Road with relocating utilities this winter followed by construction in the spring. Houbolt Road construction is part of Rebuild Illinois’ vision to rebuild 16 miles of I-80 over the next six years.
Construction along I-80 began this past summer that replaced more than 50-year-old infrastructure. “It’s going to make the highway safer for our residents, better for transportation [and] it’s going to help us advance as an economic center here in Will County,” Sen. John Connor, D-Lockport, said. The project is part of Rebuild Illinois that is expected to invest $33.2 billion into the state’s aging transportation system, create jobs and promote economic growth. It is the largest program in state history to improve all modes of transportation across the state. The city of Joliet will oversee the $33.5 million Houbolt Road project.
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obitUaRy o donnell Patricia Catherine Coughlin O’Donnell, age 90, a longtime resident of Plainfield, IL, passed away unexpectedly on Monday, January 17, 2022, in Sioux City, IA. She was born September 12, 1931 to a coffin maker in Columbus, OH. Patricia was a philanthropist, activist, former Franciscan, educator, patron of the fine arts, wife, mother, and grandmother. She was born Democrat and baptized Catholic. In her lifetime, she taught well over 1500 children how to read, write, figure, and shared with them her love of life and literature. After graduating high school at St. Joseph Academy in Columbus, OH in 1949, Patricia joined the Joliet Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate in 1951. She was a sister with the order until 1968. It was then she felt the call to motherhood and the life of laity. Beginning her next chapter
in life, Patricia worked for Allan and Bacon Publishing as an educational consultant and as a staff development specialist. Eventually, through the Dominic Club, Patricia was introduced to William O’Donnell, and the two soon formed a romantic attachment with their love of reading, storytelling, dancing, and Irish history. They were wed in 1971, and enjoyed 50 years of wedded bliss. Their union produced their only child Kathryn Jo Fairchild to whom Patricia was an ever-doting mother. After staying at home for a year with her baby, Patricia returned to work at Oak View Elementary School in Bolingbrook, Illinois. She would teach second grade there for the next 22 years until her retirement in 1994. At work, Patricia forged many strong friendships that lasted far beyond the classroom. Patricia could read in three foreign languages and held a bachelor’s degree and two master’s
degrees in theology and education from the University of Saint Francis and Loyola University of Chicago. She had traveled many of the fifty states and visited over five countries. Throughout her life, she was an active member of Phi Delta Kappa, the League of Women Voters, and the Irish American Society of County Will. Later in life, she was also a dedicated member of the social justice committee at St. Mary’s Immaculate Church and a frequent lector. She could read books with great inflection to an audience of children, or do a fierce puppet act as Elf O’Donnell-a rather crazy and sneaky leprechaun for those who knew her well. In her last chapter, Patricia enjoyed: Bunco with her Oak View friends, Silver Sneakers at the YMCA, attending morning Mass, visiting with her dearest neighborhood friends, Plainfield friends “Birthday Club” friends, attending grandchildren’s games,
dance recitals, and sacraments, and avidly reading. She courageously battled pulmonary hypertension and congestive heart failure for years. In the end, her heart grew too large, and she died quickly and peacefully holding her daughter’s hands on January 17, 2022. Patricia was preceded in death by her mother, Mildred (nee Fraher) Coughlin and father, William Coughlin. She is survived by her much younger brother, John Coughlin, sister-in-law, Suzanne Coughlin, husband, William O’Donnell, daughter, Kathryn Fairchild, son-in-law, Forde Fairchild, and grandchildren, Marygrace Fairchild, Frances Fairchild, and Patrick Fairchild as well as nephew, Kevin (Cynthia) Coughlin, niece, Mary Kay Hylton, niece, Carolyn (Lars) CoughlinCrabo, niece, Trish (Jim) Murray, niece, Pam Satchwell, nephew, Robert (Naomi) O’Donnell, as well as loving great nieces and
great nephews. Visitation Monday, January 31, 2022, 4:00-8:00 PM at OvermanJones Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 15219 S. Joliet Rd., Plainfield, IL. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, February 1, 10:30 AM at St. Mary Immaculate Catholic Church, 15629 S. Route 59, Plainfield. Interment will follow at St. Mary Immaculate Cemetery, Plainfield. In lieu of flowers, donations in Pat’s memory may be made to: Misercordia Home. Checks may be made and mailed to: Misericordia Foundation, Attn: Sister Rosemary Connelly, 6300 N. Ridge Ave. Chicago, IL 60660, (773) 273-2038, Donation forms can be downloaded at https:// www.misericordia.com/giving/ donate-online/ For more information, please call (815) 436-9221 or visit www. overman-jones.com
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Phone: 815.4246.24241 >> Mon. - Fri. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. FAX: 815.4249.2415 email: classifieds@enterprisepublications.com IN PERSON: Enterprise Publications >> 2241556 Andrew Rd. >> Plainfield, IL
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