Sheridan Road will be reduced to one lane of traffic between Lincoln Street and Chicago Avenue starting Wednesday as construction resumes following a several-week delay.

The Sheridan Road project — the second of a three-phase plan — will extend the protected bike lane, improve traffic signals, resurface pavement and create a new curb, according to a Friday news release.

Only preliminary work, including putting up metal fences on both sides of the road, had previously taken place along Sheridan Road following the completion of the first phase, which added a bike lane on Chicago Avenue between Sheridan and Davis Street.

The project was temporarily halted when Illinois lawmakers failed to pass a budget by July 1, resulting in the shutdown of approximately 900 transportation-related construction projects statewide. Behind-the-scenes work to resume the project began once the budget was successfully passed on July 6.

Construction on the Sheridan Road phase was originally scheduled to run until September but will now last until later in the fall, city manager Wally Bobkiewicz said. During construction, the respective intersections of Emerson Street, Library Place, Garrett Place, Haven Street, Dartmouth Place and Colfax Street with Sheridan Road will be blocked, according to the release.

Additionally, the city plans to add reflectors to a recently added bike lane curb at the intersection of Chicago Avenue and Davis Street that has recently caused some traffic issues.

Some drivers have accidentally driven into the bike lane or on top of the lane-dividing curb at that intersection, causing several local residents to get upset, Bobkiewicz said. Although the new feature has not caused any significant accidents, reflectors will be added to make the curb more noticeable.

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