| Dear Neighbor,
When I first took office in May of 2011, we received many calls from residents along Ashland Avenue from Irving Park to Lawrence regarding failing utility cuts and other street surface issues that resulted in vibration damage to nearby homes. At that time, I directed Bill Higgins and Jim Poole to begin developing a plan to resurface Ashland Avenue from Irving Park to Lawrence. Since Ashland is a Cook County roadway, my team worked closely with Commissioner Bridget Gainer and Commissioner John Fritchey to develop a coordinated plan to replace a century-old water main and resurface Ashland Avenue.
Their work resulted in a plan that involves cooperation between the City of Chicago and Cook County. The Dept. of Water Management (DWM) will fund the replacement of century-old water mains under Ashland and the County will fund the resurfacing of the roadway. This partnership saves money for taxpayers, and ensures that a newly-resurfaced roadway will not be destroyed by a major water main replacement project in the coming years. This project is a first for Cook County and the City of Chicago. I am pleased to see such robust coordination across units of government.
Starting next week (Tuesday, September 2nd), contractors working with DWM will begin replacing the water mains installed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries under Ashland Avenue from Irving Park to Lawrence. After the water main work is complete, Cook County will be providing the funds to resurface the entire stretch of Ashland between Irving Park and Lawrence. Please note that the southbound lanes of Ashland between Montrose and Irving Park will not have the water main replaced, but will be resurfaced as part of this project.
The entire project, including restoration, is expected to be completed by the beginning of December. Crews will work in four-block segments on Ashland, and full lane closures will be necessary during their work for safety reasons. Work will be in progress Monday through Friday from 7am to 6pm. Thanks, in advance, for your patience as the City completes this needed update to our aging infrastructure.
Crews will begin on the northbound lanes at Ashland and Irving Park and work their way to Montrose. They will then move to the northbound lanes between Montrose and Lawrence. During working hours, ALL northbound traffic on Ashland will be detoured to Clark St. They will then move to the southbound lanes between Lawrence and Montrose. Southbound traffic will be detoured to Damen via Lawrence during this time. The project is expected to be fully completed by late November. As crews make progress, there will be interruptions to E/W traffic across Ashland Avenue.
Please allow for extra time, plan alternate travel routes, follow all detour signs and avoid the area during this project, if possible. The infrastructure map on our website, will be updated regularly along with the “Infrastructure Update” section of our weekly newsletter to keep you informed. We will have detailed detour maps available in the next few days, which we will post on our website and send to you once they are available.
You should also know that sand excavated from the Ashland Avenue project will be reused. Being able reuse the sand will save the City of Chicago approximately $240,000 — the reuse also allows for the work to completed with less trucks and other excavation resources. This results in significant fuel savings, noise reduction, decreased air pollution and considerably less wear on local streets.
If you have any questions or concerns during the course of this construction, please call or email my office — info@chicago47.org or 773-868-4747. We are working closely with the contractors and the Dept. of Water Management to ensure that the project stays on schedule for completion before winter.
While this project will cause disruption, the long-term benefit to improved water infrastructure and a new road surface on Ashland is great for our community. I want to thank DWM Commissioner Tom Powers, Cook County Superintendent John Yonan, Comissioner Bridget Gainer, Commissioner John Fritchey, and my entire team for working collaboratively on this project. Thank you for your patience over the coming weeks as we complete this needed infrastructure upgrade and street resurfacing.
Sincerely, |
Graceland West Community Association