Lindenhurst rethinks costly sidewalk project

Making Grass Lake Road pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly is going to be a costly endeavor for Lindenhurst.

Village officials hope to connect existing sidewalks along the road so residents can walk or bike to nearby parks, lakes and the park district, but they learned Monday the seemingly easy project will cost several thousand dollars.

"Anytime you retrofit a sidewalk into an existing public right of way, not specifically designed to have a sidewalk, it is going to be a costly project," said Wes Welsh, village engineer.

The two sections needing sidewalk run from the waste water treatment plant to the Auburn Meadows subdivision and from North Beck Road to the East Providence Woods subdivision.

The sections are 940 feet and 3,100 feet long, respectively.

The first project would cost $141 per foot, or $132,540, while the second project would cost $74.25 per foot, or $230,175.

In a new subdivision, a typical 5-foot-wide sidewalk costs $10 to $12 per foot, Welsh said.

Welsh said flood plain and other environmental and landscaping issues are driving up the cost of the project.

"These are some pretty pricey little projects," Welsh said. "And these are studied prices only -- estimates based in 2006 dollars."

The village board voted to re-examine the project during budget discussions and decide at that time if there is money to move forward.

"I think we need to be reasonable," said Trustee Dominic Marturano. "We can't do all this in one fell swoop. If we do it in small chunks, I think we can get it done in a reasonable time frame with a reasonable budget as well."