The village of Brookfield will break ground next month on the final round of referendum-funded residential side street improvements, wrapping up a six-year, $22 million campaign that saw the village resurface or rebuild more than one-third, or 15.3 miles, of roadway.
On March 8, Brookfield trustees voted unanimously to award a $2.9 million construction contract for the work, which will also include a pair of water main improvement projects, to Addison-based R.W. Dunteman Company, which submitted the lowest of five bids.
For the sixth consecutive year, bids for the project came in under the village engineer’s budget of nearly $3.5 million. This year’s project will improve a little more than a mile of roadway, mainly in the north end of the village.
Village Engineer Derek Treichel estimated that construction would begin in mid-April and last through August. A separate project to replace the Brookfield Avenue bridge over Salt Creek is also expected to begin in earnest in mid-April.
Among the streets included in this year’s improvement project are Harrison Avenue, from Monroe Avenue to 31st Street; Madison Avenue, from Grand Boulevard to 31st Street; Park Avenue, from Grand Boulevard to Washington Avenue; Oak Avenue, from Lincoln Avenue to Washington Avenue; and Blanchan Avenue, from Ogden Avenue to the north terminus at the railroad right of way.
For each of those projects, the street will be widened by three feet, with complete curb and gutter placement on both sides, along with pavement resurfacing.
Also being resurfaced this year is Cleveland Avenue, from Monroe Avenue to Lexington Avenue. The street will not be widened as there are few homes fronting Cleveland Avenue along that stretch.
Finally, a short stretch of Eberly Avenue, from Ogden Avenue to the north terminus at the railroad right of way, will be resurfaced as a joint project between Brookfield and LaGrange, which share that street.
Water main work
Brookfield will also improve a couple of stretches of water main in 2021 after those pipes experienced multiple breaks and officials fear further breaks in the future.
The larger of the two projects will entail replacing the 6-inch water main under Oak Avenue, from Ogden Avenue to Shields Avenue, with an 8-inch main that will be located under the west sidewalk.
In addition to the new main, work will include installing new copper service lines from the main to the B-boxes that connect the system with residential properties. Once the main is in place, new sidewalks and any disturbed areas of driveways will be restored. The old 6-inch main under the street will be abandoned in place.
A new 8-inch water main will also be installed on Brookfield Avenue between Hollywood Avenue and Woodside Avenue. It will be located in the north parking lane of the street, meaning those parking spaces will be offline during the actual main installation.
The street will be patched after construction. The village plans in the next two to four years anticipates obtaining federal grant money through the West Central Municipal Conference to help fund resurfacing Brookfield Avenue, which is considered a collector route.
