Wood Dale unveils five-year, $51 million plan to update existing infrastructure

Wood Dale unveiled its five-year $51.3 million capital improvement plan on Thursday, showing that the city plans to make large investments in the city's existing infrastructure.

"The CIP represents a continued commitment to the maintenance and improvement of Wood Dale's capital facilities," city officials said in a joint statement. "While the five-year CIP is ambitious, it is not frivolous."

Nearly half of the $51.3 million, or $23 million, will be spent in 2023. Of that, $15,491,606 will go to police surveillance cameras, street lighting, public works building improvements, reducing noise from O'Hare Airport, and waste management projects. Another $6.4 million will go to stormwater, road and bridge repairs, particularly the Elizabeth Drive Bridge which is said to be in poor condition.

Another $1.141 million will be spent on water and sewer facilities, some of which have not had improvements made since the 1980s.

The money for the work is earmarked to come from the General Capital Projects Fund - which is funded by the city's utility tax, the city's portion of sales taxes, and grant funding when available - plus the Water/Sewer Capital Projects Fund, which comes from water and sewer fees.