Palatine fixing downtown sidewalks to get federal money

Months after the Palatine Road expansion project’s completion, the village of Palatine is in the process of ripping up and fixing stretches of new sidewalk in the downtown area.

Village Manager Reid Ottesen said that even though construction followed federally approved plans, the federal government has since said it will withhold $5 million owed to the village unless certain changes are made to sidewalk slope angles. Palatine also was told the coloring of the “truncated domes,” or the raised bumps that enable people with visual disabilities to determine the boundary between the sidewalk and street, needs to contrast more with the brick.

Palatine officials expect the work to be done by next week.