Extra dirt adds to cost of DuPage forest project
Extra dirt is going to cost the DuPage County Forest Preserve hundreds of thousands of dollars.
A bad map is being blamed for the additional 35,000 cubic yards of soil that needs to be moved as part of a $2 million enhancement project at Mallard Lake Forest Preserve near Bloomingdale. An aerial map was used in the bid specifications put together by a consultant instead of a ground topographical map, forest preserve officials said.
"We will be looking for some adjustment in their contract," said Joe Benedict, the district's director of environmental services.
Benedict said it's unclear why the aerial map was used. He said the engineer who produced the bid package is on vacation and unreachable. The excess dirt problem was only recently discovered.
The consulting company that compiled the bid package has worked with the district on a number of other projects in the past without problems, Benedict said. The company was paid $241,000 for surveying work throughout the district in 2004, and the Mallard Lake project was part of that deal. The company also has a $303,000 contract to serve as project manager for the Mallard Lake work and has already been paid $118,000, Benedict said.
The work being done at Mallard Lake came under fire earlier this year when dog owners protested the loss of a popular off-leash dog run because of the project. Commissioners acquiesced to the outcry and promised to create a new dog park once the work is complete later this year.
The project will provide an access road off Schick Road, 75 additional parking spaces, enhanced trails, added stormwater detention and stabilization of more than 1,500 feet of shoreline to prevent further erosion of the namesake lake.
Benedict told forest preserve commissioners Tuesday there is a bit of a silver lining to all of this. It turns out the district needs about 21,000 cubic yards of soil to make repairs to an old landfill mound nearby. Also, the project was originally estimated to cost $1.2 million more than what the winning bid went for. The project is financed through the district's landfill fund, which was created when the area was used for garbage collection.
"We'll still be under budget and we'll move dirt to a place we're going to need it fairly quickly," said commissioner Roger Kotecki. "But it's still a rude surprise and there's going to have to be a contract amendment."
Just to dig up the excess dirt will cost the district more than $100,000, Benedict said. Nearly $200,000 more is required to move the 21,000 cubic yards from one side of the forest preserve to the other. But the unknown costs include spreading the 21,000 cubic yards around the old landfill mound and getting rid of the remaining 14,000 cubic yards. Benedict told commissioners he'd likely have those dollar figures in two weeks.
The district can't have workers spread the excess soil around the forest preserve because it would interfere with stormwater collection and violate construction permits. Applying for new permits to allow spreading the soil would take months and halt the project indefinitely, officials said.