The village of Forest Park has been taking steps toward flood relief the past few years, including the execution of several major infrastructure projects to put in new water mains and separate sewers. But one recently completed project related to new water mains on the 400 and 500 blocks of Beloit and 500 and 1500 blocks of Marengo was carried out incorrectly by the contractor, Uno Construction, and has caused issues for residents.
Thirteen homes have been affected. According to Village Administrator Tim Gillian, “When new water mains are put in, every house on the block gets new service. In these particular cases, as the pilot rod was pushed through the dirt to do this, it accidentally went through the sanitary line.”
He added that the problem was discovered when a resident reported a blocked line. The village investigated by televising the line. When they saw the issue, they then forced Uno Construction to televise all the new lines the company had put in. In 13 places, a similar problem had occurred.
To fix the problem, the newly paved street in these 13 areas will need to be torn up so the water and sewer lines can be excavated and repaired where the sanitary line is broken.
Gillian said he expects Uno Construction to have all repairs to the water lines and streets completed within two weeks. The contractor who completed the original work, will make all necessary repairs at no cost to the village.
“To their credit,” said Gillian, “they have accepted full responsibility for this and have been completely accepting of all village requests.”
Gillian added that, going forward, all contractors who finish similar projects in the village will be required to televise lines to ensure similar issues have not occurred.
