The village of Brookfield will host a public open house on Sept. 28 for residents to ask questions and provide comment about a $5.4 million road improvement and storm sewer construction project for Burlington Avenue between Grove Avenue and DuBois Boulevard that’s scheduled for construction in 2024.
The open house will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. in the council chambers of the Brookfield Village Hall, 8820 Brookfield Ave. Written comments may be submitted at the open house or mailed to Public Works Director Carl Muell at the village hall.
According to a memo to the village board from Muell, the open house is an Illinois Department of Transportation requirement, so residential and commercial property owners as well as business owners affected by the work can ask questions and provide comment.
IDOT is considered the lead agency for the work since $2.25 million in federal grant funding was earmarked for the Brookfield project by the West Central Municipal Conference’s Central Council of Mayors. While that leaves the village on the hook for the remaining $3.2 million of the total cost, officials are expected to apply for another grant from the Central Council of Mayors for 80 percent of that amount.
In October, the village board is expected to approve spending $375,000 over both the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years for Hancock Engineering to complete Phase II design engineering for the project.
IDOT will put the project out to bid in January 2024, with work taking place between April and November of that year.
According to Muell’s memo to the board, which was discussed at the village board committee of the whole meeting on Sept. 26, the scope of work will include simple resurfacing of streets, but will mainly consist of full street reconstruction, which will be disruptive to those living and operating businesses in the construction area.
It will also include the installation of a new storm sewer along Burlington Avenue from Elm Avenue to a new outlet into Salt Creek. That work will result in Creekside Park, a pocket park at Burlington and Grove, being closed to the public for about two months during construction.
Any excavation done inside the park related to the storm sewer construction will be restored once it’s complete.
The roadway will be fully reconstructed, along with the installation of new curbs and gutters on Burlington Avenue from Prairie to Maple and from Deyo to DuBois. Burlington Avenue from Prairie to Maple will also be widened by 8.5 feet, and the intersections at Burlington and Southview and Burlington and DuBois will be realigned.
DuBois Boulevard will also be reconstructed and widened by one foot from Burlington Avenue to Ogden, and a new brick paver area will be installed in front of the Congress Park Metra station.
The asphalt roadway will be milled and resurfaced along Burlington Avenue from Grove Avenue to Prairie and from Maple to Deyo. Deteriorated sections of the existing combined sewer will also be repaired throughout the construction zone.
After construction, the village also intends to expand commuter parking on the north side of Burlington Avenue between Maple to DuBois, increasing the number of spots from 26 to 64.
That increase is being carried out with the hope that, sometime in the near future, the commuter parking lot at 4000 DuBois Blvd., which is owned by the village, will be redeveloped. That lot presently accommodates 58 vehicles.
“While we don’t have a crystal ball for 2024 or beyond, our assumption is something will eventually be developed on that property, though there is nothing identified now,” said Village Manager Timothy Wiberg. “In order to replace as much of that parking as possible, we are making long-term plans now to increase the amount of on-street commuter parking on Burlington, by extending the area on Burlington for commuter parking.”
This story has been changed to correct by how much Burlington Avenue will be widened between Prairie and Maple avenues. It will be widened by 8.5 feet.
