Libertyville gets good mileage from its road work dollars
Libertyville has gotten so much better-than-expected mileage from its road program that more work will be added to the schedule before the construction season ends, officials said.
Because contractor bids for road projects this year have been well under budgeted estimates, about $705,000 is available to extend the program. Scheduled work is about three-quarters done, but the windfall will allow the village to rehab several more streets than planned.
"We're not asking questions, we're just enjoying it," said Paul Kendzior, public works director. "We're able to do much more work with the same amount of (budgeted) money."
Village officials have authorized increases in the contract with A Lamp Concrete Contractors Inc., of Schaumburg, the low bidder for the 2016 road rehabilitation program, for various additional projects.
The first change is for $150,000 to patch East Golf Road from Milwaukee Avenue to Fourth Street, as well as the main access drive at the Libertyville Sports Complex. The second change authorizes $550,000 to cover pavement work in the western half of the Oak subdivision, east of the Des Plaines River.
Asphalt and concrete patching are done on streets not scheduled for "full-width" work to extend the time until that is necessary, according to Kendzior. Deer Trail Lane, Oak Trail Drive, Scott Place and Hunters Lane in the Oaks subdivision were selected because they have not been worked on in 20 years and are in poor shape.
The changes, which previously included $80,000 for work at Fire Station 2, bring the total contract with A Lamp to $4.37 million for 2016 work.
Libertyville has been a roll with road work since voters in 2012 authorized a property tax hike to pay for $20 million in bonds plus interest. The money was borrowed in $5 million increments, the last in October 2015, with the plan to spend the $20 million on roads from 2013 to 2017.
Because of the budget issues, the village had been falling behind in road maintenance. The $20 million was intended to address streets with a "shave and pave" strategy before they needed more extensive and expensive reconstruction.
"We've done about a third of our roads in five years, which is a good thing," Mayor Terry Weppler said.
"The last year of (bond issue-financed) work will be next year," he added. "Then, we'll have to go back and see what's the next step. The idea is keeping up."
Finance Director Patrice Sutton said if road work bids continue to come in below estimates, there may be some funding available for 2018 and extend the program to a sixth year. Each bond has a 20-year term, meaning all will be paid by December 2032.