Brookfield will look to redo light fixtures along the 3700 block of Prairie Avenue this fall once construction along the 3700 block of Grand Boulevard is complete.
At the village board’s April 28 meeting, the board directed staff to pursue a limited scope of streetscape work along the block as soon as possible with village funds rather than look to fund the work through the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s Surface Transportation Program.
Dan O’Malley, a project manager for Hancock Engineering, Brookfield’s contracted engineering firm, said Brookfield could likely pay for up to 80% of the project through contingency funding in 2027 or 2028. That money is allotted to projects that end up falling through, and it would otherwise go unused, though it’s not guaranteed to go to Brookfield.
“Worst-case scenario, Prairie Avenue is already on [the STP] program from 31st Street all the way to the tracks for 2029,” he said.
O’Malley presented trustees with a choice between limited work on Prairie Avenue mostly concerned with redoing the light poles and some sidewalks, curb and gutter restoration or a full streetscape replacement, which would see the sidewalk gutted and completely redone with the installation of new tree grates alongside the lighting work.
The work on the light poles would only extend from the intersection with Grand Boulevard to the alleyway just north of Fill My Jar, O’Malley said.
The limited work, which trustees supported, will cost $175,000, while the full treatment would have cost $500,000, documents show. O’Malley said parking on Prairie Avenue would have to be closed for about six to eight weeks in the first case or up to 12 weeks in the second case.
He added that the village would still look for contingency funding in 2027 and 2028 to redo Prairie Avenue from Grant Avenue up to 31st Street if the board supported redoing the 3700 block this year.
Village President Michael Garvey said he supported moving to complete the work later this year to be practical.
“There is a danger that if we do the sidewalks and pavers and everything right now, that, when we hopefully get the Surface Transportation Program funding in ‘27 or ‘28, we would be possibly tearing up curb and sidewalk that we just did in order to make the improvements on Prairie [Avenue],” he said.
O’Malley said the work would likely not start until Grand Boulevard is complete in order to avoid routing detours around both streets.
Trustee Katie Kaluzny said she supported fast-tracking the work to keep consistency with the new downtown lighting, which is currently being installed on Grand Boulevard.
“I would love to see the trees maintained as well, but I feel like, if you’re going to tear up the street in a couple of years, there could be some disturbance and stress on those new trees that are planted, so I’d rather see that piece go in when the rest of the street is being redone,” she added.
