The Village of Algonquin wins the Fox Valley Branch APWA 2022 Project of the Year for Environmental ($5 to $25 Million). The Village of Algonquin is a developing community in the Fox River Valley area of greater Chicago. In anticipation of the Route 31 Western Bypass, the Village embarked on a master planning venture to revitalize its historic downtown. A comprehensive approach was taken, which included developing Master Plans for each of the utilities — storm, sanitary and water — as well as parks, transportation, and streetscape improvements.

By integrating the needs identified through the Master Planning process, the Village developed a Phased approach to reconstructing Old Town Algonquin, which included the installation of major utility improvements such as water transmission mains, replacement of lead services, construction of Interceptor Sewers and storm sewer replacements. The Old Town Revitalization Project transformed the downtown district with elements such as brick pavers, lighting upgrades, benches, and planter boxes. Utilities were also upgraded including electrical services, lead service line replacement, and pedestrian safety. The Old Town Prairie Trail Project included improvements to the Prairie Path in partnership with McHenry County Conservation District.

It was important to the Village to take advantage of the economies of scale that would be offered during construction; therefore, they elected to coordinate utility replacement with the Old Town Algonquin Project to minimize construction costs and reduce disruption in the downtown area. Wet utilities, including storm sewer, sanitary sewer and water main within the right-of-way were replaced under Stages 2 and 3 of the overall project.

The Downtown Streetscape Wet Utilities project installed over 7,000 feet of sanitary sewer, 3,100 feet of water main, 1,400 feet of storm sewer, and construction of one lift station.  The replacement of downtown area utilities in the Downtown Streetscape Wet Utilities work allows for further revitalization efforts including; Old Town Algonquin, Around and About Main Street project, Riverwalk and Streetscape project, and the extension of services to planned developments in the Algonquin-Cary subarea.

The Village of Algonquin’s Public Works worked closely with Trotter and Associates, Inc., Martam Construction, Inc (Stage 2) and Trine Construction Corp (Stage 3) to successfully complete this project.