Sewer project to spawn several road closures in South Elgin

Navigating some streets on South Elgin's east side could be a challenge in coming weeks.

But the end result, officials said, will be more protection against flooded basements during heavy storms.

The village and the Fox River Water Reclamation District have embarked on a joint $3 million project to build a new pumping station.

The plan also entails installing new sewer lines along Plum, Gilbert and Middle streets on the east side.

"The capacity with rain storage couldn't keep up with (major storms)," Public Works Director Chuck Behm said. "It was going to start backing up into people's basements."

Sporadic road closures will begin Monday and continue through early- to mid-May if all goes according to plan.

The first step, which already is under way, is building a new pumping station along the Fox River at the end of East Plum Street.

The most crucial step is digging under the railroad tracks to install a larger storm sewer line. If, for example, crews hit a large rock, that could cause delays.

Here's the tentative schedule for other road closures while crews install larger lines:

• East Plum will be closed Monday for a week to all traffic except homeowners between South River and Fulton streets.

• By April 14, crews could close South Gilbert Street down to one lane between Plum and East Middle streets from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. for a week.

• Beginning April 21, crews could close Middle Street to one lane from 7 a.m. 5 p.m. from Gilbert to the Illinois Prairie Path for a three-week period.