Clarendon Hills Project to Close Downtown Roads

A water main replacement project once deemed too expensive to take on has a new, lower price—possibly at the cost of the downtown business community.

The village board approved an engineering contract Monday night that will likely lead to the full closure of roads next spring in the Clarendon Hills central business district for five days, as well as the partial closure of the roads for five more days.

The project, which is expected to take place between mid-March and mid-April 2012, will replace water main pipe on Prospect Avenue between the railroad tracks and Park Avenue, on Park between Walker Avenue and Prospect, and a short section of pipe on Fairview Court. In the interests of time and money, village staff and the board are open to granting construction workers and their vehicles full access to downtown roads from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. for five consecutive days.

In July, the village board rejected all bids for the project—which originally did not include the Fairview portion—after they came in 25 percent higher than the village engineer’s estimate. The village figured the water main replacement would cost $266,580, and the bid they rejected July 18 was $358,196.

According to director of public services John Hayes, the village determined the biggest reason the bids came in high was the lack of full access to the central business district by construction workers, and the resulting loss in daily productivity from having to blend in with regular traffic.

Hayes said allowing the downtown road closures will hopefully bring bids closer to the village engineer's original estimate.

“I think it’s to everybody’s benefit to allow them to have the access,” Hayes said. “If I was a business owner, I’d rather have it done quickly in four or five days than go on for two or three weeks.”

Hayes said if things go well, two-thirds of the downtown could be re-opened in three days.

Recklaus said the village will work with the Clarendon Hills Chamber of Commerce and individual business owners to get input on the best possible scenario for closure, business-wise. He said in his past experience with infrastructure improvements in downtown districts, partial closings are as bad as full closures and he agreed with Hayes that it’s best to get the project done as quickly as possible.

“If there’s all the signs up and there’s the construction, that’s as good as it being closed for some businesses and for some customers,” Recklaus said, adding that a lot of people don’t want the hassle of driving through and parking in a construction zone.

Trustee Paul Flood said the village could either get the input of the business community before a plan is outlined or outline the plan and then work with the business community on the back end to make the effects as palatable as possible. He and the rest of the board agreed the latter was the best choice for the village.

The downtown business district will be open to pedestrian traffic during the closure periods and will re-open to traffic and parking each evening. 

The $60,912 contract the board approved Monday with Christopher B. Burke Engineering Ltd. is for coordination, design, and observation of the project only. The specifics of the construction project itself have not yet been finalized. Hayes said in an email that the bidding process for the construction will likely take place from mid-December through January.

In addition to the water main work, the village's project also contains plans to install tree grates, create new crosswalks, and replace existing pavers imbedded in sidewalks with stamped concrete bricks.

It was estimated by the village in the summer that those aesthetic improvements would cost $147,470, but the bid rejected in July priced them at $154,697.