Why are so many streets being reconstructed? When voters approved an additional 1% income tax in 1996, the village council agreed to spend 40% of this additional revenue for infrastructure improvements, mainly streets. At that time most of the village’s major streets were in need of improvements due to lack of revenue in past years to repair them. Since then the village has been very successful in obtaining money from the state’s infrastructure improvement grant and loan program to assist in the improvements of Gender Road, Washington Street, High Street, and, most recently, West Waterloo Street.

Reconstruction versus Repair—The village’s engineer determines when a street requires total reconstruction instead of just an overlay. Also decided is whether water, storm or sanitary line upgrades are also needed. Past experience shows that many of these lines are in excess of 40 years old. In order to minimize future problems, most of these lines are being replaced at the same time the street is reconstructed.

Why aren’t all street projects started in early Spring? While the village tries to begin street work as early as possible, there are some things that preclude this. The village budgets money to spend on a street project based on the engineer’s cost estimate. Sometimes, for various reasons, the bids come in higher that the estimate. The project must then be either re-bid or held until the following year. This happened with Trine Street. The project was re-bid the second year because contractors had fewer state road projects to perform, were hungrier for work, thus bid the job much lower.

Why does it take so long to get started? In order to limit continued opening of new streets, the village also works with the telephone, gas and electric companies to upgrade their service lines and services to properties at the same time. Usually, it appears that street work has begun; however, the first one to two months of construction is actually the utility companies upgrading their lines.

What determines if a street is closed or kept open during a street project? If the street is a major entrance into the village or if more than a few businesses are located on the street, the street will usually be kept open during construction. However, this means a much longer total project schedule. If the street carries mainly local traffic and is primarily residential, we will usually close the street. This means a much faster schedule. Trine Street is a good example of this. The project was actually completed two months ahead of schedule because we were able to close the entire street.

Who oversees street projects? The village actually has a number of representatives assisting with this. First, the village’s engineer designs the project and is also available if design problems arise during the project. A construction administrator, Bill Sims, and inspection company, Quality Control Inspections, Inc., is also used by the village to oversee the project on a daily basis. These people work with the Village’s Street Department Manager, Ed Snyder, to handle the day-to-day issues that come up during the project. Lastly, the mayor and council must approve any proposed changes or additional costs during the project.

When is construction complete? Not until all problems and miscellaneous items are handled to the village’s satisfaction. Usually a small amount of the contractor’s pay is retained for a period of time after the project appears to be complete. This retainer handles things such as dead grassy area of tree lawns and cracks in sidewalks among other things.