A series of construction projects in Glencoe, ranging from water main replacements to sidewalk repairs, are scheduled for the next few months, highlighted by storm sewer enhancements in the last three spots identified as needing changes after a series of intense spring storms in 2014.
At the April 20 village board meeting, trustees authorized the village manager to accept a nearly $1.5 million bid from a Wauconda-based company to enhance pipe capacity basin areas on Park Avenue, from Valley Road to Greenwood Avenue; Madison Avenue, from Vernon Avenue to Greenwood Avenue; and the Hazel Avenue underpass.
“These are geared at increasing the capacity of the existing storm sewers in those existing basin areas for the sole and primary purpose of eliminating overflow that is running through private property significantly in those two basin areas,” Public Works Director David Mau said at the meeting.
Mau told the village board he anticipated construction to begin in May, with completion targeted by September.
This will mark the second consecutive and projected final year of storm sewer enhancements deemed necessary after the 2014 storms, which raised an outcry from neighbors who said their homes were consistently flooding after heavy storms. Later that year, the village board authorized a study of why certain neighborhoods were constantly flooding, according to previous Pioneer Press reports.
Engineers determined larger pipes were needed to handle the water, according to earlier reports, and voters passed two separate referenda in 2015 to allow for the sale of $10 million in bonds for the enhancements.
Mau reported to the village board that he believes the areas that were enhanced last year have been improved.
“There has been no flooding of the historic nature that we saw regularly in the Terrace Court and Skokie Ridge basin areas,” Mau said. “The system that was designed to handle those bigger storms is doing what it intended to do.”
Janet Sacks, one of the neighbors who advocated for changes after the 2014 floods, generally agreed with Mau, cautioning she was not sure the village has had the severe rainstorms that led to the changes.
“Clearly it seems to have helped the street flooding issues and the need to redirect traffic and cars being immersed in water,” Sacks said.
Besides the stormsewer work, the village posted on its website that it expected to replace approximately 17,000 square feet of sidewalks in the northern half of the village in the summer. It also noted 26 locations slated for street resurfacing, and four locations slated for water main replacement over the next few months.
Exact dates for some of the projects have yet to be set. A village spokesman said residents are encouraged to sign up for Glencoe Connect, a community information system, that allows for updates on projects in their neighborhood to be sent to a phone or e-mail. People can access the system at www.villageofglencoe.org/enews.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.
