Where Carol Stream will rebuild, repave roads

Carol Stream has begun what village engineers say is the largest road improvement project in the town's history.

The summerlong project will cost more than $3 million and cover more than nine miles of roads that will either be resurfaced or, in some cases, rebuilt.

"Considering we have about 130 miles of streets, that's quite a big percentage," Engineering Services Director Jim Knudsen said Tuesday.

The work comes on the heels of a two-year project by DuPage County to widen and resurface Gary Avenue, a major thoroughfare through Carol Stream.

This year's work focuses on residential streets and should be substantially completed within three months.

Residents east of Armstrong Park and west of Gary will face the most headaches. Parts of nine streets in those neighborhoods will be reconstructed, and deteriorating curbs and sidewalks will be replaced.

The nine are: Belair Court, Edgebrook Court, Heather Lane, Springbrook Lane, Woodcrest Court, Bluff Street, Glen Flora Drive, Pebble Creek Trail and Sunrise Court.

The resurfacing work, meanwhile, involves stretches of almost three dozen streets. The village has posted a map of the entire project on its website, CarolStream.org.

Asphalt surfaces typically last roughly 15 years, Knudsen said. So about 30 years after a building boom in the late 1980s and early 1990s, many of those subdivision streets are due for another round of resurfacing, he said.

Thicker, structural overlays also will be done on Rose Avenue and Greenway Trail.

The village awarded a $3.1 million contract for the work, but originally budgeted $4.3 million.

Outside of grants the village might receive, roadwork and other capital projects are exclusively funded by budget surpluses.

Village inspectors, meanwhile, are surveying the extent of driveways that were damaged in areas where crews already have removed curbs and gutters.

Damaged driveway aprons will be replaced with their original material: asphalt or concrete, Knudsen said. Until then, temporary gravel is being put down on some driveways.