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Bridgeport Construction To Wrap Up in April, City Says

By  Josh McGhee and Casey Cora | February 19, 2015 5:24am 

 Construction along Halsted Street has been a nightmare for business owners in Bridgeport since November.
Bridgeport Construction
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CHICAGO — Construction to fix a century-old sewer pipe in Bridgeport that's caused headaches for local businesses will likely take another month to complete, followed by a street repaving in April, the city's Water Department says.

"There's been nothing unusual. It's really just a matter of coordinating the utilities," said Peter Scales, a spokesman for the department.

The construction, which began in November, required working with utility companies to remove their infrastructure in order to access the pipe near 31st Street and Halsted. The city has already replaced the two-block-long pipe and is now waiting on Peoples Gas and AT&T to reinstall their utilities, Scales said.

"It's just a complicated project," said Scales, adding that the pipe was replaced on Jan. 23 allowing the lanes to be reopened.

Once the utilities are replaced, concrete will be poured and the street will once again be accessible. The whole project should be down within the next month, Scales said.

Still, the street will need to be repaved in April, he said.

Since the disruptive sewer repair project started, it has caused months of distress for business owners in the area, especially during the holidays. Replacing the aging, underground sewers has led to parking restrictions, rerouted bus lines and vexing traffic detours for motorists who dare to navigate around the heavy machinery.

Edmund Liu, owner of Ed's Potsticker House at 3139 S. Halsted St., estimates he's lost upward of $30,000 in revenue and out-of-pocket costs to shore up his building after health inspectors closed it for four days in December after a rat infestation. The vermin, he said, scattered away from the dirty sewers into his business as crews "knocked, knocked, knocked" on the pavement to dig up the street.

"It's very bad. ... It's been a nightmare," Liu said in January. "It's just been a disaster"

Ald. Jim Balcer (11th) has said the work "has to be done" despite the inconvenience it's causing.

"I've been talking with the police and Office of Emergency Management and Communications about how we can help straighten this out, but people are going to be inconvenienced for a bit. But it has to be done. ... This is your tax dollars at work," Balcer said in November.

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