Glen Ellyn road project may face some bumps

Planning has begun for a $4.5 million road reconstruction project in Glen Ellyn, though it could face some speed bumps.

A stretch of Hawthorne Boulevard, from Ellyn Avenue to the village’s border with Wheaton, will be reconstructed to include underground improvements in water, sanitary sewer and storm sewer systems. The project also will include work on one block of Pleasant Avenue.

The village hopes to widen Hawthorne from 21 feet to the standard 25 feet, but some residents are worried about the impact on trees and increased vehicle speeds.

Last week, the village board approved a design engineering services contract for $290,000, including a 10 percent contingency, with Engineering Resource Associates of Warrenville.

Their preliminary engineering plans will include at least two street layout plans, one for a 21-foot-wide street and the other for a street that’s 25 feet wide.

Village Engineer Bob Minix said the village could go with one or the other, or perhaps an “in the middle kind of width.”

A village standard adopted in 2001 recommends nonlocal streets be reconstructed to a width of 25 feet.

Minix said the village board tried to establish guidelines, but “also recognized this may not fit in every situation.” The policy does allow for exceptions, he said.

Stephen Pordes, who has lived on Hawthorne for 30 years, said residents don’t object to the road being fixed, but do object to its widening. He believes it could reduce property values.

“Most of the people who live on Hawthorne think of Hawthorne as a community rather than the technical term the village uses: corridor,” Pordes said. “We really do not see the point of taking green and converting it to concrete.”

Changing the street width could result in conflicts with existing utility poles and trees, but Minix said the village will be analyzing the extent of those impacts.

Another village guideline says sidewalks should be placed where none exist, as is the case on the south side of Hawthorne, east of Park Boulevard. Design plans will include a new sidewalk, though Minix noted residents there are opposed to a new sidewalk.

Preliminary engineering work is scheduled to be done by June, when a public meeting will be held to present designs. The village’s capital improvements commission will make a recommendation to the village board, which could make a final decision around August.

The project is expected to go to bid in early 2012. Officials want pavement placement complete before the start of school in late 2012 because of the proximity of Glenbard West High School and Hadley Junior High School.