Project Update: Messenger Woods reopens with completion of new entrance road

Editor’s note: If you notice repair or building activities in the preserves this construction season and wonder what is happening, Cindy Wojdyla Cain, the Forest Preserve public information officer, will be providing online Project Update reports with all the information you need to stay up to date. 

Replacement of the pothole-riddled entrance road at Messenger Woods Nature Preserve in Homer Glen has been completed, and the preserve is now open.

The contractor still has work to finish adjacent to the roadway, but the preserve will be open and accessible to the public starting Thursday, June 18, while these remaining tasks are completed. The first parking lot will be blocked off Thursday, June 18, and Friday, June 19, with the lot reopening in time for the weekend on Saturday, June 20. Parking will remain available in the second lot.

The project began May 4 with the expansion of the Spring Creek floodplain. This work took place south of Bruce Road and will compensate for the loss of floodplain along the new entrance road. This area will be restored to prairie.

Starting May 18, removal of the existing entrance road began, and the preserve was closed through June 17. The old pavement was completely removed from Bruce Road north to the first parking lot, and the replacement work elevated the entrance road by about 12 inches.

Plans for the road replacement have been in the works for several years.

‘In dire need’

An extensive entrance road repaving project in 2011 was supposed to last many years, but it didn't, said Matt Novander, the Forest Preserve District’s chief landscape architect.

“We did that with the expectation (and) hope, really, that we would get some length and longevity out of the rebuild, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen,” he said. “Typically, roadways last anywhere from 15 to 30 years with progressive maintenance.”

Within about 10 years, water was already damaging the entrance road, and it was “in dire need of reconstruction” for several reasons, he said.

“The road as it was built was basically at grade and it didn't drain well and it went through a significant floodplain,” Novander explained.

That’s why the new entrance road is not only higher, but also includes geosynthetic fabric and grids in the base layers to improve drainage, stabilize the rock and soil base and help prevent water damage to the new pavement.

‘Aggressive’ schedule

Because Messenger Woods is in a floodplain and also has state-level nature preserve protection, permits had to be obtained from regulatory agencies, Novander said.

All of that took time, but the goal to have the preserve reopened by the Fourth of July holiday has been met.

The project cost $377,766 and is part of the Forest Preserve District’s 2025-2030 Capital Improvement Program, which is funded by a $50 million bond issue.