St. Charles, Geneva likely to team up on Route 31
The bad news for commuters is construction work will soon cut Route 31/Geneva Road down to one lane. The good news is those same commuters will be able to get out and walk during future traffic backups.
St. Charles aldermen gave preliminary approval Monday to a $431,000 project. The project will increase the walkability and connectivity between St. Charles and Geneva. The work will bring sidewalks, culvert, retaining walls, stream bank stabilization, tree removal and new tree planting to Route 31. The improvements will run from Willowgate Lane, near Wheeler Park, and head south into Geneva.
St. Charles aldermen inked an intergovernmental agreement with Geneva. The deal will see St. Charles manage the project and pay the bulk of the costs. St. Charles will pay the bills up front and about $314,000 of the total cost. Geneva will reimburse St. Charles about $117,000 of the final tally.
“We decided to join forces with the city of Geneva and combine into one contract for economy of scale,” said Karen Young, the assistant director of St. Charles' public works department.
St. Charles aldermen must still take a final vote on the deal and its parts, which include the awarding of the construction contract to Franklin Park-based Kovilic Construction.
There is also a $43,000 engineering contract pending for WBK Engineering. The firm did not submit the lowest bid on the design work. But Young said city staff did not believe the low bidder had qualified personnel to handle the project. The city has a history of contracts with WBK, and the firm submitted the second-lowest bid.
The actual bid totals for the engineering contract were not immediately available Monday.
St. Charles aldermen approved all elements of the project without any “no” votes.
Following a final vote, the work will begin in August with a completion date in October. Young said there would be several temporary, daily lane closures, leaving one lane open, during portions of the project. The city will post the times and dates of the road closures on its website.