ELECTROMAGNET MAKES ITS WAY TO FERMILAB

ROAD CLOSURES THIS WEEK FOR MOVE OF 50-FOOT-WIDE ELECTROMAGNET TO FERMILAB

Rolling closures on tollways, state and county roads during late night and early morning hours

DOWNERS GROVE, IL – Scientists from the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory will move a 50-foot-wide circular electromagnet from Lemont to the laboratory site in Batavia this week, necessitating rolling road closures overnight on two portions of the Illinois Tollway and several state and DuPage County roads.

The electromagnet (which is not magnetic until plugged in at Fermilab) arrived in Lemont on Saturday, July 20, and was moved from a barge to a specially designed truck, which will drive it along interstate routes and through suburban streets to Fermilab over three consecutive nights this week, July 23-25. The full route and frequent updates about the move are posted at Fermilab’s Big Move website here: http://muon-g-2.fnal.gov/bigmove.

The ring will be transported at night, using rolling roadblocks to close off intersections. The route includes portions of the Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355) and the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88), along with parts of state routes 53, 56 and 59 and several local roads. The closures may affect those traveling during the overnight hours this week and drivers are advised to leave early in order to arrive at their destinations on time.

Crews will be working ahead of the moving truck to remove signs and other obstacles in the roadway, and will replace them as soon as the caravan moves through. Roads will be re-opened as soon as possible, and traffic disruption will be kept to a minimum.

The schedule of the move:

·         Tuesday, July 23/Wednesday, July 24, beginning at 9 p.m.: Rolling closures are scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. on Lemont Road from Bluff Road north to 87^th Street. All northbound and southbound I-55 exit ramps to Lemont Road will be closed Tuesday night, July 23, from approximately 9 p.m. to midnight. All activity will clear overnight and normal operations are assured by 12 a.m. Wednesday.

·         Boughton Road (87th Street) to a parking location east of I-355 – Rolling closures are scheduled to begin at 11:30 p.m. at Boughton Road and Woodward Avenue. All activity will clear overnight and normal operations are assured by 2 a.m. Wednesday.

Wednesday, July 24/Thursday, July 25, beginning at 11:30 p.m.:

·         Boughton Road (87th Street) to Veterans Memorial Parkway (I-355)

·         I-355 to Route 56 (Butterfield Road) – Rolling, full closures of the northbound lanes between Boughton Road (87th Street) and Butterfield Road (Illinois Route 56) are scheduled to begin at midnight on Thursday. All activity on the Tollway will clear overnight and normal operations are assured by 5 a.m. on Thursday.

·         Illinois Route 56 to Illinois Route 53 – State routes will have rolling closures paced by Illinois State Police, with the traffic on those routes reopened to the public as soon as possible. All operations on state routes will be cleared no later than 5 a.m. Crews will remove and replace signs, lights and signals to facilitate the move.

·         Illinois Route 53 to a parking location just south of Illinois Route 56.

Thursday, July 25/Friday, July 26, beginning at 11 p.m.:

·         Illinois Route 53 to Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) - State routes will have rolling closures paced by Illinois State Police, with the traffic on those routes reopened to the public as soon as possible. All operations on state routes will be cleared no later than 5 a.m. Crews will remove and replace signs, lights and signals to facilitate the move.

·         I-88 to Illinois Route 59 - Rolling, full closures of the westbound lanes between Illinois Route 53 and Illinois Route 59 are scheduled to begin at midnight. All activity on the Tollway will clear overnight and normal operations are assured by 5 a.m. on Friday.

·         Illinois Route 59 to Ferry Road  - State routes will have rolling closures paced by Illinois State Police, with the traffic on those routes reopened to the public as soon as possible. All operations on state routes will be cleared no later than 5 a.m. Crews will remove and replace signs, lights and signals to facilitate the move.

·         Ferry Road to Eola Road – Rolling and full closures of Ferry Road from Route 59 to Eola Road are scheduled to begin at 1:30 a.m. All activity will clear overnight and normal operations are assured by 3 a.m. on Friday.

·          Eola Road to the Fermilab site – Rolling and full closures of Eola Road, from Ferry Road north to the Fermilab site, located at Butterfield Road/Illinois Route  56, are scheduled to begin at 2 a.m. on Friday. All activity will clear overnight and normal operations are assured by 5 a.m. on Friday, July 26.

On the afternoon of July 26, the ring will move the final few miles across the Fermilab site. The public is invited to come celebrate the ring’s arrival along with Fermilab scientists and employees, starting at 5:30 p.m. at Wilson Hall.