2017 Lake Branch APWA Project of the Year City of North Chicago Watermain and Street Improvements Project

Dec 20, 2016

 Project Background

The City of North Chicago is a diverse community with the same economic challenges many industrial-based cities have faced over the past decade. With a limited ability to generate new revenue, and an aging infrastructure, the City relies heavily on MFT revenue to keep their streets in repair and safe for travel (including snowplowing, salt and repairs). The lack of significant local funding sources (property taxes, sales taxes, etc.), and ever decreasing levels of federal and state grant funding, the City has a limited access to funding for rehabilitation of the aging infrastructure.

The City has approximately 70 miles of roads and alleys, with approximately 68 miles of watermain, sanitary sewers, and storm sewers to maintain. The bulk of this infrastructure was constructed between 1920 and 1960 and is well beyond its anticipated service life. Fortunately, the original infrastructure was well engineered and properly built, but given its age, some of it is outright failing.

 

The City has implemented a comprehensive capital replacement program and pavement management strategy which focuses on keeping good pavement in satisfactory condition and extending its useful life, and allowing bad pavement to fail completely until it needs full replacement. Central to this strategy, and to make the best use of the limited resources, good pavement is pro-actively managed using preservative and restorative treatments. Capital street reconstruction projects all include watermain, storm and sanitary repair or replacement projects. By bundling the street and capital watermain projects, the City is able to leverage its water enterprise fund and combine watermain replacement with street reconstruction.

Project Timeline Highlights:

Begin Construction, June 27, 2016
Project (Scheduled) completion date October 28, 2016
Project was completed on November 14, 2016
Project budget $3,200,000.00

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