Water main reconstruction is taking place on Western Avenue for the next few weeks and will continue to cause major delays in traffic throughout the area. Construction details are provided by the Department of Water Management. 

Weekly review for week of 12/15/14:

Complete segment No. 1:  N. Western Ave. 8" and 24" water mains - W. Diversey Ave. to N. Jones St. (East side)

Crew completed installation of 24" and 8" diameter water mains, hydrants, tees and valves ending at South line of Elston/Diversey.

Continue segment No. 5:  N. Western Ave. 24" water main - W. Diversey Ave. to North Branch of Chicago River

Second crew continued installing 24" pipe, test holes and alignment shift crossing Wolfram from the South. Concrete jersey barriers and barricades were previously set up North of Diversey to enclose and protect work area in Northbound Western Ave. traffic lanes.  Two southbound lanes and one northbound lane on Western remain open between River and Logan.

 Weekly look-ahead for week of 12/22/14:

 Crew No. 1 - 24" and 8" diameter water mains scheduled for flushing, pressure testing, chlorination and sampling during Christmas holiday week.

Crew No. 1 - During testing and chlorination of new pipes on Western, crew will set up traffic control on North side of Diversey between Western and Logan and move to Diversey at East line of Western and begin installing new 8" diameter pipe moving towards the East.  Traffic on Diversey will be restricted to one lane East and one lane West affecting parking availability on Diversey.

Crew No. 2 -  24" diameter water main construction is scheduled to continue between Wolfram and the North branch of the Chicago River.

Crew No. 3 tentatively scheduled to begin installing new 8" pipe on Nelson between Western and Oakley in January 2015.

Traffic:

Drivers who use Western Ave. on a daily basis are encouraged to add a few extra minutes to their driving time to allow for minor back-ups at Diversey and at Logan.  Residents and businesses are encouraged to contact crew with questions regarding this work and to alert crew to special access requirements (Handicapped driver, pedestrian, move-in and move-out and delivery trucks etc.) as well as scheduled water main shut downs.  Crew would also like residents' help in identifying sudden unsafe conditions like barricade knock-downs so corrective action may be taken.  Our crew would like to make sure everyone is notified prior to our scheduled shut downs.  Water Department door hangers and stickers are typically used as a shut-down notice. Emergency shut downs are rare but do happen.  Water pressure is usually restored within 2 hours (sometimes as short as 20 minutes) following an emergency shut down. Crew will request city services salt truck as-needed to make roadway safe in work areas during winter construction. 

If you have issues or problems getting your water back on after intial shutdowns, the contact information for the water main crew engineer is:

Water Department construction trailer is located at 2401 W. Fletcher

The Chicago Department of Transportation administers the Shared Cost Sidewalk Program (SCSP) each year. Traditionally, the program to Chicago property owners opens on New Year's Day, January 1, 12:01 a.m. We would like to inform you of a change in the opening date and time for the 2015 Shared Cost Sidewalk Program.   

There have been numerous complaints from citizens that the New Year's Day program opening is not convenient. In many circumstances the property owners are on vacation during the entire application period. In order to address this issue CDOT will open the 2015 Shared Cost Sidewalk Program on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, at 12:01 a.m. 

Resources: 

Neighbors will always find the coming week's construction schedule at The 606 website under News for Neighbors. Use the link at the website to join The 606 email list for construction and other updates. Call (773) 661-9172 with construction-related questions or concerns, and someone will return your call.