Committee Approves $317K Guardrail Maintenance Contract Amid Discussion on Installation Dangers

Will County Public Works and Transportation Committee Meeting | March 3, 2026

Article Summary: Will County officials approved an annual guardrail maintenance contract Tuesday while addressing national concerns over improperly installed safety barriers that can prove fatal in crashes.

Guardrail Maintenance Key Points:

• The committee approved a $317,671.00 contract to Northern Contracting, Inc. for countywide guardrail maintenance.

• An accompanying resolution allocated $350,000 in Motor Fuel Tax funds for the improvements.

• Vice-Chair Mark V. Revis raised concerns about improperly installed guardrails, citing national news reports.

• Director of Transportation Jeff Ronaldson assured the board that county engineers strictly inspect all installations.

The Will County Public Works and Transportation Committee on Tuesday, March 3, approved its annual countywide guardrail maintenance contract while fielding questions about the life-and-death stakes of proper barrier installation.

The committee unanimously advanced a $317,671.00 contract to Sycamore-based Northern Contracting, Inc., the lowest bidder for the 2026-2027 maintenance cycle. To fund the work, the committee also passed a companion resolution utilizing $350,000 from the county’s allotment of Motor Fuel Tax (MFT) funds.

During the discussion, Vice-Chair Mark V. Revis voiced concerns regarding a rising national awareness of fatal guardrail errors.

“As I understand it, these guardrails, if they’re installed improperly and there’s like a bolt that is going one direction versus another direction, or there’s a piece of guardrail that’s overlapping in the direction towards traffic as opposed to going with traffic, it’s very dangerous,” Revis said. “When is the last time there’s been a systematic audit of what we have installed in terms of making sure the bolts are facing the right way?”

Revis noted that investigations across many states have recently been sparked by deaths resulting from improperly installed barriers.

Director of Transportation Jeff Ronaldson clarified that while humans can make errors, the county has strict protocols in place.

“When they’re constructed, our engineers inspect them to ensure they’re put to standard,” Ronaldson said. “We’ve never experienced anyone going out and doing an audit of our system in that manner… our engineers will inspect it before we authorize payment of those on our system anyways.”

The maintenance contract covers the repair of existing and future damaged guardrails across the entire Will County highway system on an as-needed basis. Ronaldson noted that the county issues work orders to the contractor in response to crashes or weather leaning, and the contractor is typically given one month to complete the repair.

During the repairs, roadways will remain open with periodic lane closures directed by flaggers. The work is estimated to run from May 2026 through December 31, 2027.