Glenview Moves Ahead with East Village Flood Control Project

The following is from the Village of Glenview:

A major flood control project benefiting 1,150 single-family homes in east Glenview is moving forward, following the award of two contracts Tuesday, August 5, by the Glenview Village Board of Trustees.

Essentially, the project will prevent the Main Stem (Middle Fork) of the North Branch of the Chicago River from backing into storm sewers serving the neighborhood east of Harms Road between East Lake Avenue and Central Road.

“The area has historically experienced severe flooding issues during heavy rainfalls. About half of the homes in the area reported private property flooding issues when Glenview was hit by heavy rains in September 2008,” Village Manager Todd Hileman said. “When completed, this project will re-establish the local level of service that the storm sewer system originally provided when it was built.”

Installed in the 1960s, the Village storm sewers in this area can stop functioning when enough rain falls to cause the river level to reach flood stage. In these conditions, river water flows back into the local storm sewer system, making some roads impassable and flooding some properties. When this occurs, the local storm sewers are unable to drain until the river has receded.

As part of the project:
 Backflow prevention devices will be installed at three storm sewer outfalls to prevent the river from backing into the local neighborhood.
 Two new lift stations will be installed to pump storm water into the river during major rain events. Joseph J. Henderson and Son of Gurnee was awarded a nearly $5.97 million contract (including a 3-percent contingency) to construct the pumping stations and backup generators at 815 Harms Road and in Cunliff Park.
 New 84-inch storm sewers will be constructed under Harms Road to provide for storm water conveyance and detention. DiMeo Brothers Inc. of Elk Grove Village was awarded a $5 million contract (including a 3-percent contingency) to install the sewer and reconstruct Harms Road.A $6 million grant from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago will cover more than half the cost of the project. The bids came in higher than originally anticipated because of:
 the risk associated with the 25-foot-deep excavations under Harms Road and adjacent to the Cunliff Park field house for the 7-foot diameter pipes; and
 market conditions that have driven construction costs higher.

Village staff worked with design engineers to structure a two-part bidding process to save almost $1 million in construction costs from the original bid process. Now that the construction contracts have been awarded, construction is expected to start shortly, with substantial completion of the pump station and generator work by
spring 2015; the start of construction on Harms Road in spring 2015; and substantial completion and putting into service the entire project by summer 2015.