A water main and storm sewer will soon be replaced near Ferdinand Avenue and Adams Street to address the undersized, aging water pipe and years of flooding in the area.
The village council awarded a contractor for the project at its Sept. 23 meeting.
Out of 11 bidders, the village awarded the contract to Bolder Contractors, which was chosen as the lowest responsible and qualified bidder at more than $1.4 million. Christopher B. Burke Engineering estimated the project to cost more than $1.8 million.
In July, the village council voted to advertise bids for the Ferdinand Avenue project to address the aging, undersized water main.
“The size of it was one of the factors that brought it to the forefront,” said Village Administrator Rachell Entler about the project.
Once Bolder Contractors begins work, construction shouldn’t last more than about two months or interfere much with area traffic.
“If the intersection of Adams has to be shut down, they usually try to keep that at a minimum,” Entler said. “All of that typically doesn’t come out until they start construction.”
The replacement of Ferdinand Avenue’s water main was intended to take place sometime in the next year or two, Entler previously told the Review.
“We are strategically planning out with our infrastructure plans to replace aging water mains,” Entler said.
The timeline for the Ferdinand Avenue water main was sped up when the village ran into issues replacing the water main on Elgin Avenue from Jackson Boulevard to Madison Street. Entler said the village needed to install an additional water main at Harlem Avenue and Adams Street, which would make the cost of the project significantly more than the village intended.
So, the village shifted focus to replacing the water main on Ferdinand Avenue instead.
Entler said the Elgin Avenue water main project has not yet been rescheduled.
She added that village staff is meeting within the next few months to discuss its three-year infrastructure plan and when to address the Elgin Avenue water main. Entler said the project’s timeline will partially depend on available funding and grants.