Higher costs will result in a smaller slate of street projects
By Katie Arvia
LANSING, Ill. (September 2, 2022) – Lansing residents may soon begin to notice signs of impending construction on their block. Street resurfacing throughout the village will start shortly, with nearly 20 streets included in the plans for construction.
Strike delays
Initially, this project was planned for earlier in the year. However, due to a recent strike by the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 150, the project has been delayed by one month, meaning the resurfacing will now be completed this fall.
Steven Kaminsky, Project Engineer for Robinson Engineering, explained that the strike delayed many construction projects in Northern Illinois.
“With this strike causing limited and eventually no supply of aggregate material for almost eight weeks, contractors were unable to produce asphalt or concrete for roads, curbs, or sidewalks or backfill for underground work, such as water mains or storm sewers,” Kaminsky said.
Price increase
In addition to causing delays, the IUOE strike also caused a price increase on materials. Village Administrator Dan Podgorski stated that the price increase will mean fewer streets can be resurfaced. The Village of Lansing had allotted roughly $900,000 in the budget for street resurfacing; after the price hikes, the initial amount of streets planned for resurfacing would have cost roughly $1.2 million, meaning certain roads had to be cut from the list, although these streets have not yet been determined.
“The Village has not identified which streets will not be resurfaced after the budget was adjusted yet. That will be determined after additional in-person inspections and discussion with our engineers,” explained Podgorski.
Potential streets to be resurfaced
The 18 streets that were initially included in the construction list can be found below. Please note that it is likely a few streets will be pushed into next year’s project so the Village can keep the project within this year’s budget. The streets slated for potential resurfacing include:
- 173rd Street – Chicago Avenue to Burnham Avenue
- 177th Street – Locust Street to 675 ft. east
- 185th Street – Hickory Street to Violet Avenue
- 191st Place – Park Avenue to east dead end
- 191st Street – Sherman Street to Bernadine Street
- 193rd Place – Wentworth Avenue to cul-de-sac
- Christina Drive – Oakley Avenue to 186th Street
- Greenbay Avenue – Bernice Avenue to north dead end
- Henry Street – 186th Street to 187th Street
- Locust Street – Thornton-Lansing Road to north dead end
- Madison Street – Henry Street to William Street
- Oak Avenue – 185th Street to 186th Street
- Oakwood Avenue – 184th Street to south dead end
- Ridgewood Avenue – 185th Street to 186th Street
- Roy Street – Adams Street to Madison Street
- Sherman Street – S. Schultz Drive to N. Schultz Drive
- Violet Avenue – 184th Place to 185th Street
- Alley south of Adams Street – Roy Street to Walter Street
After the streets are re-analyzed and inspected, the work will begin.
“D. Construction Inc. will begin marking streets and doing the concrete work to fix the curbs on the streets that will be resurfaced in the next 30 days,” said Podgorski.
Resurfacing process
When resurfacing a street, the contractor generally starts with the removal and replacement of curbs and gutters that do not allow storm water to properly drain to the drainage structures. Contractors will also replace sidewalk ramps to make them ADA compliant, and driveway aprons impacted by the curb and gutter replacement, Kaminsky explained.
Anywhere from two to four inches of the existing asphalt will be removed using a grinding machine. Next, before placing the new asphalt on the road, the contractor will clean the ground surface and place a sticky tack coat down to help the new asphalt bind with the old asphalt still in place. Typically, the contractor will place multiple layers of asphalt, with varying depths depending on the amount of traffic on the road.
“Residents should always be extra cautious when driving on a street while construction is in progress, being on the lookout for workers and machines. Following instructions on notifications provided and on signs posted on the street related to start/stop dates and parking restrictions will also allow the contractors to work safely and efficiently,” Kaminsky said.
Despite the setbacks caused by the IUOE strike and material price increases, the street resurfacing in Lansing will begin soon. Although an exact street-by-street schedule is not available, Podgorski said, “It is anticipated [that] final surface paving will be done in the fall by approximately mid-November.”
For questions regarding street resurfacing, contact Village Hall at 708-895-7200 or visit www.villageoflansing.org.
