Having completed Forest Park’s previous five-year infrastructure plan a year early, Village Administrator Tim Gillian and Village Engineer Jim Amelio unveiled the next five-year plan at the Nov. 27 village council meeting.

The infrastructure improvements address streets, alleys and water mains.

Whereas the 2014-18 plan called for spending an estimated $16,252,000 on infrastructure improvements, the 2018-2022 plan calls for $7,276,070, a decrease by over half.

Gillian attributed the difference to the three major infrastructure projects the village undertook over the past four years, the two Madison Street renovation projects and the Roosevelt Road project, which were supported by $5,507,000 in grants.

“Without the grants, none of those big projects would have taken place,” he said.

At the Nov. 27 meeting, Amelio explained that all streets and alleys are given grades of good, average, fair and poor, based on ride-ability, drainage issues and potholes with the lowest grades getting priority for improvements.

The list can be changed due to grant fund availability and deterioration of conditions, Gillian added, noting that assessments are ongoing.

“If any official or resident sees a street or alley that needs work, we can move it up the list,” he added.

The $7 million will include $5,596,910 from the village improvement fund and $1,679,160 from the water fund. Cost estimates per year range from $1,799,401 in 2019 to $1,178,911 in 2021.

Plans for 2018 call for reconstructing alleys in the 900 block of Thomas-Hannah, 1000 block of Hannah-Circle, and 1000 block of Circle-Marengo; replacing water mains in the 800 block of Elgin and 1000 block of Elgin; and resurfacing streets in the 800 block of Marengo and the 1000 and 1100 blocks of Elgin.

Plans for 2019 include reconstructing alleys in the 800 and 900 blocks of Circle-Marengo, 900 block of Marengo-Elgin, and 1100 block of Elgin-Harlem; replacing water mains in the 400 and 500 blocks of Beloit and the 400 block of Thomas; and resurfacing streets in the 400 to 600 blocks of Beloit and the 400 block of Thomas.

Plans for 2020 call for reconstructing alleys in the 900 and 1100 blocks of Dunlop-Lathrop and the 1000 block of Troost-Dunlop; replacing water mains in the 1000 and 1100 blocks of Ferdinand; and resurfacing streets in the 800 to 1100 blocks of Ferdinand.

Plans for 2021 include reconstructing alleys in the 1050 and 1100 blocks of Desplaines-Troost and 1050-1100 block of Troost-Dunlop; replacing water mains in the 7600 to 7800 blocks of Wilcox; and resurfacing streets in the7600 to 7800 blocks of Wilcox and 900 to 1100 blocks of Lathrop.

Plans for 2022 involve reconstructing alleys in the 800, 1000 and 1100 blocks of Thomas-Hannah; replacing the water main in the 1500 block of Marengo; and resurfacing streets in the 1400 and 1500 blocks of Marengo and the 1200 to 1500 blocks of Elgin.

Amelio estimates 92 of the village’s 117 alleys have been reconstructed since 2000.