Forest Parkers face a mixed bag this summer construction season as one road project is set to begin, another is about to end and a third continues with an ambiguous future.
The Forest Park Village Council unanimously approved June 26 a contract for the resurfacing of several roads including Washington Street from Marengo to Harlem Avenues; Hannah Avenue from Madison to Lehmer Streets; and Hannah from Roosevelt Road to 14th Street. That project will begin in early July and is expected to be completed in late August.
Meanwhile, work on the Brookfield-North Riverside Water Commission project on Fillmore Street is about to wrap up as the Roosevelt Road reconstruction and streetscape project continues. However, since the Roosevelt Road project funding comes from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), it could be shut down on June 30 if the Illinois General Assembly does not pass a state budget.
The village council voted 5-0 to award the contract for the project on Washington Street and Hannah Avenue to J.A. Johnson Paving, the lowest of four bidders. J.A. Johnson Paving’s bid of $826,939.20 was $300,000 less the engineer’s estimate. The project, which includes replacing a water main in the 400 and 500 blocks of Hannah Avenue, will be paid with motor fuel tax funds, tax increment financing (TIF) funds and the water fund.
Jim Amelio of Christopher Burke Engineering, the village’s engineering firm, attributed the pricing to lower than estimated costs for asphalt and water main.
Village Administrator Tim Gillian said the $300,000 will be rolled over and made available for next year’s projects.
As streets over the smaller water mains are targeted for resurfacing, village officials are incorporating the water main upgrade to avoid resurfacing the street twice.
Gillian said crews working on the Brookfield-North Riverside Water Commission project, which began in April, are relaying bricks on Hannah Avenue and, once that is completed, only landscaping will be left.
Although the Roosevelt Road project has been progressing on schedule since beginning in March, IDOT officials warned contractors that they would not be paid starting July 1, the start of the fiscal year, if the state does not pass a budget, which could lead to a shutdown of the project.
“It’s just going to add to the aggravation of the construction by prolonging it,” Mayor Anthony Calderone said.
Gillian said village officials are working to close up any excavations and making the site safe in the event of a shutdown. If the project is delayed, Gillian said officials would investigate taking temporary measures that would allow them to reopen that lane. The expected completion date of October will be delayed if the project is suspended June 30.
The $4.75 million project cost will be covered by $2.46 million from the TIF fund and a $2.29 million grant from IDOT.
The village council on June 26 also approved a three-year contract with Constellation Energy Services Inc. for electricity for the village street lights, effective July 25. Constellation’s bid of $0.03164 per kilowatt hour for three years was the lowest of three bidders presented by the Northern Illinois Municipal Electric Collaborative (NIMEC), a cooperative that handles the bidding of power suppliers competing to sell electricity in bulk to municipalities.
