As we sit here on a cloudy spring day wondering if this is the year the Des Plaines River floods once again, we imagine the owner of a home in Riverside being told by his contractor that the cost of a highline new kitchen has gone from $7.2 million to $17.9 million.
Sticker shock. Indignation. And, back in our real world, serious concern over whether the Army Corps of Engineers has the capacity or the smarts to actually build something that will keep portions of Riverside from being seriously underwater — again.
It was in 2013 that the river crested at 18 inches above any previously recorded level. It has now been 11 years of mutual indecision, endless dickering over design, and discussions with nearby homeowners — all interrupted by a pandemic and supply chain issues — and we still have an undesigned, unbuilt and inadequately funded fix for a real world, climate-warming river that does not want to be fully contained.
So where are we now? The village is figuring out how much money it can wrangle from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District to plug the massive funding gap. And the Army Corps is offering up lesser options that chop off aspects of what had been promoted as the necessary solution.
At a meeting on March 7, Thomas Kanies, project manager for the Army Corps, said the design for the full project was 90% complete when his staff noticed the price tag had exploded by more than double. This does not inspire confidence.
So the options Kanies presented included lopping off both pumping stations and underground water storage. Or cutting off one pumping station and keeping underground water retention capacity.
Our proposed option is chain link fencing but much taller. And affordable.
Brookfield’s big plans
Two stories out of Brookfield. Both are infrastructure related. And notable in a town where, until the past two decades, infrastructure issues had been fundamentally ignored.
At a meeting last week, the village’s contracted engineer said Brookfield will undertake the largest roster of notable projects in memory this year. More than $22 million in infrastructure projects — streets, pipes, parking lots — will be invested. The replacement of water main and lead water service pipes will expand. Burlington Avenue will be remade. And improvements are coming to the Congress Park station area.
Derek Treichel, the engineer, said a goodly portion of this season’s work is possible because the village has been aggressive in preparing engineering plans for projects in advance of securing funding. In a competitive world this has allowed, he said, for Brookfield to jump the line when other communities are not ready with shovel-ready projects that match the funding timeline.
Also worthy of mention is the village’s updated infrastructure map on its website. Residents can follow along as progress on specific projects is made, or delays occur. With so much work just ahead, this real-time information will be useful to locals.