LAKEVIEW — Warmer weather also means more construction — and in Lakeview, residents will see at least 50 percent more infrastructure projects and double the number of light installations this year.
Ald. Tom Tunney's (44th) office already has 12 capital improvement projects planned for this year, versus eight in 2013, said Sougata Deb, Tunney's director of infrastructure and special projects.
That includes water main repair, sewer main repair and street resurfacing, Deb said. More projects may still be announced, as Tunney has finalized how he will spend his discretionary infrastructure budget.
Road work is mostly planned for residential streets.
DNAinfo's Serena Dai walks us through the construction projects coming to Lakeview soon:
This year's bump in construction activity is happening after the ward finally received funding for several projects officials had been aiming to complete for years, Deb said.
"Nobody likes construction, but we were thrilled," Deb said. "It was nice to get additional funding, especially with the streets in shambles this year."
In addition to more street resurfacing and water main projects, the alderman is using more than $1 million of his discretionary budget to add residential street lights to 24 blocks in the ward — double last year's amount, Deb said.
Last year, the 44th ward spent $800,000 to install new lights on 12 blocks. Due to weather, they were not able to install lights last year, so 2013's planned new lights will be put up this year, Deb said.
Additional funding from the Cubs will pay for more lighting in Wrigleyville, Deb said. Tunney has been spending about half his discretionary money on more lighting for years, Deb said.
"That affects safety and crime in the neighborhood," he said. "That’s always been a top priority."
The time it takes for each project complete depends on unpredictable factors such as existing problems underground, weather and Cubs traffic, Deb said.
Historically, water main projects takes 2-3 months for every two blocks, and street resurfacing takes about 2-3 weeks, he said. Adding lighting to a street takes 2-3 months, he said.
No start dates have been determined yet. Street parking will be restricted during construction, but residents will be able to park on evenings and weekends.
Here's the rundown of the blocks that will have construction this year:
Water/Sewer Main Projects:
Janssen (Addison to Grace): Water main replacement and street resurfacing
Mildred (Wolfram to Diversey): Water and sewer main replacement and street resurfacing — in progress
Diversey (Halsted to Sheffield): water and sewer main and resurface — in progress
Racine (Belmont to Addison): Water main replacement and street resurfacing
Seminary (Belmont to Wellington): Water main replacement and street resurfacing
Barry (Clark to Racine): Water main replacement and street resurfacing
George (Halsted to Racine) : Water main replacement and street resurfacing
Newport (Clark to Southport): Water main replacement and street resurfacing
Oakdale (Seminary to Racine): Water main replacement and street resurfacing
School (Ashland to Clark): Water main replacement and street resurfacing
School (Clark to Broadway): Water main replacement and street resurfacing (pending funding)
Sheridan (Diversey to Belmont) Street resurfacing
Street Resurfacing Projects:
Pine Grove (Diversey to Barry): Street resurfacing
Grace (Wayne to Southport): Street resurfacing
Roscoe (Southport to Ashland): Street resurfacing (pending funding)
New Lights:
Briar, Barry, Wellington (Lake Shore to Sheridan) — 2013 carryover
Briar, Barry, Wellington (Broadway to Halsted) — 2013 carryover
Bosworth (Addison to Grace)
Greenview (Addison to Irving Park) — Partially funded
Janssen (Addison to Irving Park) — Partially funded
Wayne (Grace to Irving Park) — Partially funded
Byron (Clark to Ashland)
Lakewood (Grace to Byron)
Grace (Clark to Ashland)
