Carol Stream making progress on road, park projects

With snarled traffic, detours and ever-present mounds of dirt, it sometimes has seemed this summer that construction projects will never end in Carol Stream.

But officials say the picture is getting brighter, with work progressing on major projects to improve Gary Avenue, rebuild the Illini Drive bridge and address flooding in and around Armstrong Park.

Here's a quick look at the projects:

Illini Drive bridge

Work to replace the deteriorating Illini Drive bridge is nearing completion, Carol Stream Assistant Village Engineer Bill Cleveland said. The project will cost a little more than $500,000 and involves replacing the older bridge with a box culvert.

Construction of the culverts already has been completed, he said, and Klein Creek is flowing through them. He expects the bridge to reopen during the last week of October.

Cleveland said crews are working this week on drainage pipe connections. They will then focus on roadway and restoration work.

"Everything below the road level is in place," Cleveland said.

Armstrong Park

The roughly $12.5 million Armstrong Park flood relief project is a little more than halfway complete, DuPage County Board member and Stormwater Management Planning Committee Chairman Jim Zay said this week.

The county project involves building two reservoirs. When water rises in Klein Creek, it is supposed to spill into the smaller reservoir and then get pumped into the larger one. A siphon will then transfer the water back into Klein Creek.

Zay said total construction of the reservoirs should be completed in November. At least 1,800 feet of pipe for the siphon has been installed and crews have also worked on the pump station, Zay said.

"The project's not really expected to be done until spring of 2015 so we're on schedule for that," Zay said.

Gary Avenue

DuPage County's Gary Avenue project includes road widening and resurfacing, drainage improvements, retaining wall construction, traffic signal improvements and the creation of a uniform median/center turn lane between North Avenue and Lies Road. A roughly $11.3 million construction contract was awarded to complete the project.

Director of Transportation/County Engineer Christopher Snyder said storm sewers have been installed north of Arapahoe Trail. In this area, crews are working on curb installation and widening. After that, median work is scheduled.

To the south of Arapahoe, he said, workers are installing a box culvert for drainage.

Road work north of Arapahoe should be completed this year, but the project south of Arapahoe is expected to be finished by late spring/early summer of next year, Snyder said.