Village Starts Replacing Deteriorating Sanitary Main

Work will soon begin on a deteriorating sanitary main that runs beneath 171st Street in Tinley Park. 

And although detours won't be necessary on major thoroughfares during the several month-long process, drivers should expect lane closures, said Interim Water Superintendent Joe Wywrot. Bikers should also be mindful, as access to a nearby bicycle trail will be affected. Work on the project, which is costing the village about $1.5 million, is expected to begin Aug. 13.

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"The existing pipe is deteriorated; we've had a few breaks on that line," Wywrot said. "The thing is is that waste water is pretty corrosive to iron, to steel. Its time has come. We're replacing it with polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, piping. That is not going to corrode. That pipe will be in there for a long time."

Workers will leave the old pipe—it's several decades old—in the ground, Wywrot noted, as is standard protocol.

"That's typically what you do with old utilities; abandon them in place," he said.

The new 20-inch, nearly 1/2 mile long main will cross 80^th Avenue about 200 feet north of 171^st Street, run south beneath the trail to 171^st Street, then east beneath the center median on 171^st Street to Ozark Avenue, where it will connect to the existing main. Wywrot said to minimize the disruption in traffic, the section of pipe running under 80th Avenue will be tunneled using a giant auger.

See the attached PDF for a map of the project.

The bicycle trail will be closed between 170^th Place and 171^st Street for the duration of the project due to required excavation and necessary placement of construction equipment, material and debris. That portion of the trail will be replaced as part of the project.

In addition, the construction will close 171^st Street’s median and two center-most lanes between 80^th Avenue and Ozark Avenue. East and westbound traffic will be routed to one lane each. That portion of the work is likely to be under way at the end of August and beginning of September, Wywrot said.

A small portion of Ozark just south of 171^st street will be closed for brief periods during the work, but drivers on 171^st Street will be able to access Ozark by using streets to the east. 

The majority of the project is expected to wrap up before winter sets in, possibly as early as October, Wywrot said.

"It's all subject to change due to weather," he said. "… There are sections of pavement that will have to be removed and replaced along 171st and we want that done before winter sets in. The bulk of the landscaping may have to wait until the spring."

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