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Road work in bloom
Roadwork continues along Techny Road in Northbrook on Friday, Aug. 25. Crews will try to work until the first weekend of December, unless the weather turns cold. The temperature needs to be 45 degrees to pour asphalt | Dan Luedert~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: September 7, 2012 11:06AM
NORTHBROOK — Traffic cones have been popping up like dandelions marking renovations throughout Northbrook’s streetscape.
Most notable is the Techny Road storm sewer and reconstruction project, which includes a segment of Pfingsten Road south to Canterbury Drive.
Drivers are finding this project hard to miss, because Techny is closed at Pfingsten eastbound, though north and south cross streets are open.
However, travel on Techny is unrestricted from Pfingsten heading west, said Village Engineer Paul Kendzior.
Drivers in the area should expect some delays during the workday, but detour signs have been placed at Shermer, Pfingsten and Willow Roads, he added.
Visitors to Covenant Village, 625 Techny Road, may use Foxglove Drive during construction. Other eastbound traffic will be sent to Willow Road for the detour route.
The project is expected to continue through December of 2013, Kendzior said.
The first storm sewers, which were placed on Techny at Second Street, were 84-inches in diameter, said Sven Flodstrom, resident engineer for the Techny Road improvement project.
Workers put in about 1,000 feet of pipe before constructing a manhole structure, then transitioned to 72-inch sewers. Since then, they’ve installed about 4,000 feet of storm sewers, he said.
“I wasn’t involved in the design, but the storm sewer is so large because it is supposed to provide storm water storage in the pipe itself,” Flodstrom said. “What is supposed to happen is that when storm sewers downstream start backing up, they will back up into this new storm sewer, which will provide storage.“
The project will be lengthy, because asphalt work cannot continue throughout the winter, Flodstrom noted. Asphalt plants close around Thanskgiving and don’t reopen until April, depending on the weather.
Crews will try to work until the first weekend of December, unless the weather turns. The temperature needs to be 45 degrees and rising to pour asphalt, so if it is colder, the crews can’t work.
“But when the project started, we were told by the contractor he hoped the storm sewer would be at Pfingsten by the end of August, and that is right about where we’re going to be,” he said. “The work is progressing according to schedule.”
Kendzior noted that crews are now finishing the village’s annual asphalt street resurfacing program, as well as its concrete panel removal and replacement program.
All substantial work is now done and only a few minor driveway and lawn restorations remain. This should be completed by Labor Day, he added.
Work involving the concrete street patching and joint sealing program continued last week, with most of the patching in the Charlemagne and Sutton Point subdivisions finished.
When all the patching work is complete, joint sealing will begin. All of this is expected to be completed by mid-September, Kendzior said.
The 2012 water main improvement program — which included the replacement of water mains on Shannon Road, Woodbine Lane, Crestwood Drive, as well as service replacements on Meadow Road — was scheduled to begin Aug. 27.
Last week, workers began to replace crumbling brick pavers in sidewalks throughout the central business district. This work, unlike the lengthy Techny Road project, may be completed this week.
So far, no one has complained about the inconvenience of detouring around the projects, said Michael Shep, the Northbrook Police Department’s supervisor of community relations.
