In lieu of a road resurfacing project this year, North Riverside officials have approved spending up to $100,000 in motor fuel tax funds for cleaning out storm sewer basins throughout the village. The work will be completed by Chicago-based National Power Rodding, which submitted a low bid of $67,500. The project should begin within the next month and may be completed prior to Christmas, according to Public Works Director Tim Kutt.
When the project is completed, Kutt said, approximately 90 percent or between 1,200 and 1,300 of all of the village’s catch basins and inlets located on public streets will be cleaned. Crews will vacuum debris from each basin (four are located at each intersection and two at the midpoint of each block) and then rod out the lateral pipes that connect the basins with the sewer mains.
The catch basins are the structures that drain the roadways after rain storms, and cleaning the structures occurs approximately every five years, Kutt said. Typically, road resurfacing projects are completed using motor fuel tax funds while, the storm sewer cleaning is paid for through the village’s general fund. But, storm sewer work is an allowable use for motor fuel tax funds, according to guidelines set by the Illinois Department of Transportation, which disburses the funds to municipalities across the state.
Road projects modest for ’07
North Riverside did not fund road resurfacing in 2006, but plans to complete some $80,000 in road repairs in 2007, according to Village Administrator Guy Belmonte. The village is receiving some $40,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funds for the effort. In January, North Riverside applied for $175,000 in CDBG funding from the federal government to complete street repairs for the western and southern most areas of the village.
Because the village received 23 percent of its request, fewer streets will be resurfaced in 2007. Those to be improved next year include 9th Avenue, between Cermak Road and 23rd Street; 18th Avenue, between Cermak Road and 23rd Street; and 23rd Street, between 17th and 19th avenues.