Village of Lombard Public Works Department Announces Roosevelt Road Watermain Lining Project

The limits of the project are from Finley Road on the west end to Fairfield Avenue on the east. Additional work is also required adjacent to Roosevelt Road on Finley, main and Highland Avenue.

Many sections of the watermain have exceeded their design life and have experienced numerous breaks over the past several years, according to Paul Kuehnlenz, Civil Engineer with the Village's Public Works Department. During 2012 the Village and the consultant reviewed several options for the replacement or rehabilitation of the watermain. “Based upon several factors, including cost and impact to the traveling public and adjacent businesses, the Village has selected an innovative technique – cured-in-place lining,” explained Kuehnlenz. “This technique is used extensively for the rehabilitation of storm and sanitary sewers throughout Illinois, but only recently has it been used to rehabilitate watermains,” he added.

With the watermain lining process, sections of the existing watermain are taken out of service so that an epoxy impregnated liner can be inserted into the main, said Kuehnlenz. A temporary watermain is installed above ground to provide water throughout the time that the existing main is being lined. Depending on the size of the service line, a temporary connection will be made through a spigot on the outside of the building or through the existing service line at the watermain. Either way, water service will not be disrupted for any long periods of time, ensures Kuehnlenz. “The liner is inserted into the existing main and is cured in place using heated water. Once the liner has cured, the services are reconnected to the watermain,” he added. Smaller services are reconnected using a robotic drill within the main, while larger services require reconnection from the outside of the main.

The lining process reduces the amount of excavation required to rehabilitate the water main. Instead of digging a trench along the entire main, only small excavations are needed at the ends of each lining section (typically 500 feet apart), at fire hydrants and at larger water services. This helps to reduce the duration of the project and the impact to adjacent businesses and the traveling public. However, based on the location of the existing main, full-time closures of the outside westbound through lane will be required. The plans limit the length of any closure to 2,000 feet. Once the lane is closed, the process to excavate, line the main, and restore the pavement is anticipated to take approximately four to six weeks. Access to driveways will remain open most of the time. Some short time closures can be expected when work is required directly adjacent to the driveway. The Village will maintain a high level of communication with the businesses through the Village's resident engineer. The work on Finley Road will also require northbound traffic on the north leg of the intersection to be detoured to Main Street for a limited duration during construction.

Construction is anticipated to begin in June and is scheduled to be completed late in the Fall of 2013. The Village plans to perform a second project during the Summer of 2014 to line the remainder of the water main from Fairfield Avenue to the Village limits east of Wisconsin Avenue. If you have any questions regarding these improvements, please contact the Village of Lombard Public Works Department at 630-620-5740. Additional information will be provided after the contractor and resident engineer have been selected by the Village and the schedule has been set.