Road construction season in Brookfield will kick off in the next couple of weeks, though a major reconstruction and resurfacing project planned for the entire length of Broadway Avenue won’t begin in earnest until late May, Village Engineer Derek Treichel told members of the village board at their March 25 meeting.
That same night, trustees voted 4 to 0 (trustees Michelle Ryan and Nicole Gilhooley were absent) to award a $4.2 million construction contract to Bensenville-based Lindahl Brothers Inc. and a $344,500 construction management contract to Hancock Engineering for the project.
The project is being funded through bond proceeds approved by Brookfield voters in 2016. The low bid by Lindahl Brothers Inc. came in about $400,000 lower than the village’s estimate for the work.
In addition to Broadway Avenue, the 2019 project will also see the resurfacing of Park Avenue, Vernon Avenue and Prairie Avenue, from 31st Street to 29th Street; Sunnyside Avenue, from 31st to Bartlett; Forest Avenue, from 31st to 30th; Roach Avenue and Bartlett Avenue, from Maple to Sunnyside; and 30th Street, from Maple to Forest.
This year’s project will also include the installation of a 1,300-foot section of 8-inch water main on Vernon Avenue from 31st Street to 29th Street. The new pipe will replace a deteriorating 6-inch main.
The village will also install 200 feet of new storm sewer on Grant Avenue from Prairie Avenue to the site of a new apartment building development at 8917 Grant Ave. That storm sewer in being installed as part of a cost-sharing agreement with the developer.
Finally, this year’s project will also include repaving the south section of the parking lot at Brookfield’s Department of Public Works complex at 4545 Eberly Ave. The section is presently asphalt but will be reconstructed in finished concrete.
Treichel told village trustees that work is expected to begin in mid-April and be complete by Oct. 1.
No work will begin on Broadway Avenue, said Treichel, until May 20 and the work will be staged to limit the impact as much as possible. Treichel said the goal will be to try to keep two-way traffic and parking on at least one side of the median as much as possible. However, there will be periods of time when an entire quadrant will be closed to traffic.
Between May 20 and July 3, work will concentrate on repairs to concrete structures. After July 4, work on pavement improvements will start in earnest. Treichel said that he and other village officials will host an open house in the second half of April to roll out how the work on Broadway Avenue will proceed and answer questions.
Officials will also make personal visits to businesses along the two-block commercial strip to provide information to business owners, Treichel said.
Work east of the Veterans Memorial Circle will be the most disruptive, since that block of Broadway Avenue will undergo complete reconstruction. West of the circle, the project is more of a straightforward resurfacing project.
The improvements on Broadway Avenue will also include the installation of 18 decorative street lights along the Broadway Avenue median, five new street lights around the circle and one new light on a small traffic island at where Monroe Avenue meets Broadway, opposite Off Broadway Pub.
