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Q: What is the reason for the project? A: The existing interceptor sewers were originally constructed as early as 1920 and have reached their design life. Additionally, the existing interceptors are located along the creek and studies of these sewers have found that they are very susceptible to infiltration (ground water or rainfall entering the sewers) which can cause operational and health problems. The existing intercepting sewers are difficult for maintenance crews to access and are mostly located on private property. The new intercepting sewer is intended to replace most of the existing intercepting sewer by locating a new pipe on public right-of-way, which will be much more accessible to maintenance crews and significantly reduce the amount of infiltration into the pipe. Q: How is the project being funded? A: The project is primarily being funded by American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) monies which will be distributed through the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). Wheaton Sanitary District has been approved for loans consisting of $5 million in principal forgiveness and approximately $7.3 million at zero percent interest to be paid over 20 years from the completion of the project. The loans will be repaid through user charge revenues collected by the District. Q: Will I be impacted by the construction of the Southside Interceptor Sewer? A: Yes, even if the South Side Interceptor Route is not immediately in front of your home, you will probably notice increased traffic caused by the rerouting of traffic during the day. Q: When will the work begin? How long will construction take? A: Benchmark Construction plans to do some minor preparatory work in December 2009. They plan to wait until after the holidays until they start the main portion of the work in January 2010. They have two years to complete the work. However, Benchmark Construction plans to complete installation of the pipe by fall of 2010. Then before the end of 2010 they will install temporary asphalt pavement that will sit through the winter. After some inevitable settlement has occured, Benchmark will then place the final asphalt pavement surface in spring/summer of 2011. Q: Will there be a way to track when the contractor is getting close to my property? A: In addition to weekly updates on the District's web site, there will be weekly meetings with the contractor so that residents affected by the construction will have an opportunity to discuss their concerns directly with the contractor and District representatives. The meetings will be on Tuesdays, at 7:00 am, at the District's Board Room, starting January 5, 2010. On the District's website, there will be a map that illustrates the status of the project. Q: What kind of access will I have when the work is in front of my house? A: It is anticipated that your driveway may be inaccessible for a few hours when the construction crew is in front of your home during the day. The contractor is required to notify residents 48 hours prior to closing a driveway so vehicles can be moved. The contractor is also required to provide you with access to your driveway each evening. Parking should not be impacted during non-construction hours. During construction hours, residents will be allowed to park on the street as allowed by City of Wheaton Ordinance. Sidewalks will remain open throughout construction for access to all properties. Q: How long will roads be closed? A: It is our goal to minimize the amount of time any roadway is closed during construction. Generally speaking about 200 hundred feet to either side of the construction crew will be closed as it moves along the route. In some instances, it may make sense to close off a block long stretch of roadway. It is expected that about 80 feet of pipe will be installed each day. After the line is placed in the trench, the trench will be backfilled the same day, with the exception of the last few feet. Q: Will construction traffic be limited to certain roads? A: Construction traffic to the project corridor will generally be limited to County and State routes. Construction traffic will also be limited to specific residential streets necessary for construction access to the proposed sewer. The allowable construction traffic routes can be found at http://www.wsd.dst.il.us/news/Construction Routes.pdf. Q: What hours will the contractor be working? A: The contractor will generally be working between 7am and dusk. The major work will be conducted Monday through Friday, with the potential for some area clean up work on Saturdays. Work is not allowed on Sundays or holidays unless an emergency situation develops and only with the approval of the District or the City of Wheaton. Q: What safety measures will be taken to protect the public from the trenching operation? A: The contractor is required to maintain a safe working environment at all times. In addition, the work area will be secured each night to prevent access to the open-trench area. Q: Will emergency vehicles have access to the homes? A: The contractor must provide access for emergency vehicles to all properties at all times. Non-emergency traffic is asked to stay out of the construction zone during the day. Q: Will work continue through winter? A: Yes. In fact, frozen ground conditions are beneficial for sewer construction because it reduces the potential for damage to the ground from heavy equipment. In addition to normal snow plowing being conducted by the City, the contractor will also be performing snow plowing when he clears the road for traffic at the end of each day. Q: What construction methods will be used? A: Most of the Interceptor will be installed using standard open cut excavation techniques. However, there are five stretches that will require tunneling to extend the line under Spring Brook Creek. The tunneling lengths vary from about 60 feet to 700 feet. Q: Will the new sewer help move storm water out of the area? A: The Southside Interceptor Sewer will be a sanitary sewer, not a storm sewer. As a result, it will not transport storm water. Q: How deep will the sewer be? A: The Southside Interceptor Sewer will be an average of 25 feet deep. It will range from about 15 to 30 feet deep. Q: Why wasn't the Interceptor located within public street right of way for the entire length of the project? A: We attempted to locate the Interceptor in the street right-of-way as much as possible, but, unfortunately, for some stretches it simply wasn't possible. Q: Why was a 48-inch diameter pipe chosen over a smaller size sewer? A: The 48-inch diameter pipe includes a small factor of safety over the peak design flow requirements. Q: Are right angles (90 degree bends) efficient for the sewer? A: It is true that a 90 degree bend is not desirable, but the conditions in the neighborhood mandate the use of a few 90 degree bends. The Interceptor Sewer design has taken into consideration momentum losses at the 90 degree bends. While the head losses from a 90 degree bend are significant during low flow conditions, they are not significant during peak flow conditions when the pipeline is flowing under full pipe conditions. In well-established neighborhoods, 90 degree angles are virtually unavoidable. Otherwise, many easements would be required, homes would have to be demolished, and the expense of the project would be dramatically increased. Q: How will mail be delivered? A: At the request of the post office, temporary mail boxes will be installed. About once a week, the contractor will put up temporary mail boxes, typically at the end of a block with your address and the addresses of your neighbors on the mailboxes. Once the construction crew has moved past your home, then the temporary mailboxes will be moved to where the next stretch of pipeline will be installed, and the post office will resume to delivering mail to your home. This method is also used when roads are reconstructed. Q: How will trash pickup be handled? A: In work areas that are inaccessible to garbage collection vehicles, the contractor is required to move garbage to a location that is accessible for the garbage collectors. Q: What about the potential for damage to trees? A: Since the City of Wheaton owns most of the trees in the parkways, we are working closely with the City Forester before excavation is performed. We have already advised the City that any branches on their trees in the parkway less than 30 feet high will likely be trimmed to avoid damaging them with construction equipment. Tree roots search for water much like tree branches seek sunlight. As a result, significant tree roots are typically not under roadway pavement. It is not expected that many trees will be significantly damaged by the excavation of roots under the roads. Any trees that are damaged must be replaced by the contractor, at his expense. New trees will be nursery grade stock. Q: Can something be done about the condition of Spring Brook Creek between Plamondon Road and the Prairie Path during construction? A: The District does not have the authority to touch the Creek. In fact, the District is tunneling under the Creek to avoid disturbing it. Q: Will existing easements be used for this project? A: Yes, many existing easements are being used. In addition, eight new easements were acquired for this project. Q: Were any new easements required for this project? A: Yes. About eight new easements were needed. Q: How will homes be reconnected to the new intercepting sewer? A: All homes are currently connected to a local sewer system. This local system will be extended and/or rerouted to the new intercepting sewer. Continuous sanitary service will be provided throughout the construction process. Q: What will happen to the old sewer? A: Portions of the old sewer will be lined and reused as a local sewers. Other portions of the existing sewer will be removed or abandoned. Q: How will the old line be abandoned? A: In areas where the existing intercepting sewer is abandoned, it will be filled with a concrete slurry to prevent collapse of the sewer and the potential development of a sinkhole above it. Q: When will construction areas be restored? What can I expect when the project is complete? A: Restoration of both the roadway and landscape areas will generally follow behind installation of the sewer. For restoration purposes, the project has been divided into separate areas and the Contractor is not allowed to continue installation in the next area until roadway and landscape restoration is started in the previous area. Roadways will be restored with a gravel surface as the Contractor proceeds down them, and starting as soon as possible thereafter (weather permitting), the Contractor will begin placement of the base asphalt pavement. This base pavement will remain in place over one winter season to allow for settlement before the final asphalt surface is installed. When the project is complete landscape areas will be restored to previous condition and all roadways where the new sewer pipe is installed will be reconstructed. Q: Who do I contact if I have a problem during construction? A: Please contact the following individuals by phone in the order listed below, or to the project email address, wheatonssi@wsd.dst.il.us. If you have trouble contacting any of them, please contact the next person on the list. Weekly construction meetings will be held on the Wheaton Sanitary District Administrative Offices Board Room, on Tuesdays at 7:00 am, starting January 5, 2010. These meetings are open for the public to attend, ask questions and learn the latest project update. Thad Kreitz, Resident Project Representative Strand Associates, Inc. 815-209-3330 Mark Atkins, Jr., Project Manager Benchmark Construction Co., Inc. 630-862-5354 Steve Maney, Executive Director Wheaton Sanitary District 630-668-1515 Ordinances : Downloads : Plant Tour : Trustees : Staff : Awards Have a Sewer Backup? : WSD E-Pay  |
