Despite construction, Wheaton schools open smoothly

An ongoing project to replace sewer mains near two of Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200’s schools diverted foot and vehicle traffic for the district’s first day of school Tuesday.

However, school officials say email and phone call warnings sent to parents seemed to alleviate any major headaches.

Crews are replacing the mains along Park Avenue near Whittier Elementary School and on Elm Street just east of Edison Middle school as part of a larger project. That $12.3 million Wheaton Sanitary District project will replace the infrastructure that connects the mains at the corner of Roosevelt Road and Main Street with the wastewater treatment plant near Shaffner and Mack roads.

Whittier Principal Chris Salagi said emails and phone calls to parents reminded them of the work.

“It went very well,” he said. “We have a great staff here and they really worked together to get the kids into the building safely and then out of the building safely.”

While parents dodged construction fences as they walked or biked their children to class, school officials diverted bus routes and concentrated on traffic along Warrenville Road west of the schools.

Bus pickup at Whittier, which normally happens along Park Avenue, instead happened on Wheaton Avenue after sanitary district officials suggested avoiding Park as a safety precaution.

Project Engineer Matt Streicher said the heavy truck traffic around that area will most likely cease by the end of next week, bringing the almost two-year project near its close.

The 86-year-old agency maintains three major “interceptors,” which direct sewage from branch pipes to the wastewater treatment plant at 1S649 Shaffner Road. This project will improve flow along the Southside Interceptor, Streicher said.

Streicher said the majority of the work is done along Elm Street with just one segment remaining to be replaced.

Edison Principal Dave Kanne said the barricades that had been up along Elm since early this month were removed by the end of the day.

As for the first day of school, Kanne said the excitement of the students made his ninth opening day nearly flawless.

“It was almost like the middle of the year,” he said. “The teachers were teaching and it was a perfect first day. It was great to see.”