Softball field renovations start this month at Oakton Community College

Renovations to Oakton Community College's softball field in Des Plaines are expected to begin this month.

Crews plan to regrade the field to create a flat playing area, install automated sprinkling and full field drainage systems, and rebuild the field dugouts and backstop. The college's board of trustees recently approved a $383,889 contract with Bolingbrook-based Landworks, Ltd. for the project.

The board is also paying $66,999 to Aurora-based Mid America Underground, LLC to connect the existing baseball and proposed softball irrigation systems to a city of Des Plaines water main. Currently, the fields are irrigated using water from the Des Plaines River, which college officials say can be contaminated and doesn't promote a strong and safe playing area. The project involves installation of a 3-inch water line by boring under Golf Road to the city water main.

The projects are targeted for completion in early December.