NORWOOD PARK — With a $7.6 million project to replace a century-old sewer still snarling traffic in Norwood Park, only residents will be able to get to Talcott Avenue from side streets, Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41st) said.
The closure of the intersection of Talcott and Oriole avenues has sent impatient drivers speeding through Norwood Park side streets, creating what Chris Vittorio, Napolitano's chief of staff, called a nightmare for residents.
Although police officers stepped up patrols of the area earlier this month, the problem persists, prompting the decision to close Talcott Avenue to all traffic except residents and construction vehicles from Oriole to Oznam avenues, officials said.
There were not enough temporary speed humps available from the city to slow traffic on Ozanam, Overhill, Olympia and Overhill avenues, Napolitano said.
Now, only people who live on Talcott Avenue and construction vehicles may turn from one of those side streets on to Talcott, Napolitano said. The change was needed "to address the growing number of safety concerns of all residents impacted by the project," he said.
The massive project will replace one-foot sewer mains underneath Talcott Avenue with significantly larger pipes in an effort to prevent nearby homes from flooding, officials said.
Eastbound traffic is detoured north on Canfield Avenue, east on Devon Avenue and south on Harlem Avenue, officials said. Westbound traffic is detoured south on Harlem Avenue, west on Bryn Mawr Avenue and north on Canfield Avenue, officials said.
A temporary entrance to Resurrection Medical Center from the west is now open at Oriole and Peterson avenues, hospital spokesman Tim Nelson said.
Visitors and patients may only exit the hospital campus via Talcott Avenue, Nelson said.
The work is scheduled to be completed Aug. 1, officials said.
For more information, call 773-631-2241.
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