North River Road reconstruction on hold until 2015

Des Plaines city officials are miffed that reconstruction of the northern segment of Des Plaines River Road likely won’t begin until 2015, three years later than they expected.

According to a 2009 letter from the Illinois Department of Transportation to the city, the reconstruction project was to be let out for bid soon after completion of construction activities on the southern segment, expected to wrap up this summer.

“I guess their definition of soon is five years,” said Jon Duddles, Des Plaines assistant director of public works and engineering.

IDOT’s latest construction schedule, presented Thursday to the Northwest Council of Mayors, indicates the 2.7-mile River Road reconstruction project between Touhy Avenue and Rand Road (Route 12) won’t be bid until the first quarter of fiscal year 2015.

City officials were expecting the $19.5 million project would begin in summer 2012.

“They (IDOT) are claiming they don’t have the funding for it,” Duddles said. “People are going to have to endure this (construction) in about four years again. We are trying to speed this up. If it gets pushed back any longer, then obviously the flooding and the pavement deterioration is going to worsen.”

Duddles said the city will use its lobbyist to urge legislators to get the River Road project back on track.

But IDOT spokesman Guy Tridgell said the project has not been pushed back.

“We are continuing to go through the normal engineering work for the reconstruction of River Road from Touhy to Rand,” he said. “We plan to start land acquisition later this year.”

Tridgell said there never was a definite timeline for starting on the northern segment. While there are no funds allocated for the project at present, it is part of the state’s multiyear Highway Improvement Program for 2012-2017, he said.

“Our expectation is that we will have everything ready to go for the project to begin in the middle stages of that plan,” Tridgell said. “We are on the same timeline as we’ve always been with this project. It would be highly unusual for us to complete a reconstruction on one section of road and immediately start a reconstruction project on the adjoining section of road.”

The southern segment, a 1.5-mile stretch of River Road from north of Touhy Avenue to south of Devon Avenue, should be substantially completed by July 6. The work includes widening, raising and reconstructing the road bed to alleviate flooding from the Des Plaines River.

Devon Avenue will be closed between Shafer Court and River Road starting Monday, through Friday, June 10, as part of the project. Detour signs will be posted to Higgins Road (Route 72) and motorists are advised to use caution in the area.

That southern segment originally would not have been completed until November if Rivers Casino developer Midwest Gaming & Entertainment didn’t pay to speed up the project.

City officials are worried about ongoing flooding along northern River Road.

The proposed reconstruction plan calls for River Road to be raised three feet in the area between Fargo Street and Howard Avenue, which is prone to heavy flooding, and for a new 60-inch-diameter storm sewer to be installed there, Duddles said.

The section of River Road between Oakton and Miner streets was resurfaced roughly five years ago, and patched up last year.

“It’s not going to last another four years, so they are either going to have to patch it or resurface it again,” Duddles said. “If you drive down there when it rains, the shoulders get inundated with water. You are hydroplaning through the outside lanes. The lanes aren’t wide enough and the drainage needs to be improved along the edges.”