The Lincoln Park City Council approved $68,500 at its Jan. 4 meeting for the design, specification and bidding of a $1.3 million water main relocation, to replace and re-route along Howard Street a 16-inch water main, which has exceeded its life expectancy, and which currently runs from the intersection Lafayette Boulevard and New York Avenue, south to Riverbank Street, through yards and close to houses through a neighborhood which it pre-dates.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
LINCOLN PARK – An aging 16-inch-diameter water main, which pre-dates the neighborhood through which it runs, will be replaced and relocated, with the City Council approving the engineering design at its Jan. 4 meeting.
Currently, the water main runs south, from the intersection of Lafayette Boulevard and New York Avenue, to Riverbank Street, through residential yards and close to houses, which Department of Public Services Director John Kozuh said is not ideal.
The new, re-routed water main would run west from the intersection of Lafayette Boulevard and New York Avenue, to Howard Street. It would then run south along Howard Street to Riverbank Street, from which it will run east, reconnecting with Lafayette Boulevard.
Kozuh recommended placing the project on the city’s 2021 schedule, so it will coincide with the restoration of Howard Street near Hoover Elementary School.
Hennessey Engineers will complete the surveying, and will provide the engineering design, secure the permits and oversee the bid process, for $68,500, with the water main relocation project estimated to cost $1.3 million.
City Councilwoman Tracy Duprey said it is definitely a project that needs to be done.
“I know it’s a lot of money, but it saves us a lot of other things down the line,” she said.
Mayor Thomas Karnes said the water main was put in before the neighborhood was developed.
“It is my understanding that the original homeowners had come to an agreement and had waived the situation,” he said. “They were going to have it where an easement was put in, but the easement was never put in, so it is not a good situation.”
Karnes said the water pressure in the main is about 65 to 70 pounds per square inch, therefore, if a crack were to develop, there is the potential to cause damage, so the possibility should not be taken likely.
“It has been discovered, and there is a potential for harm to residents’ homes, so then we need to take necessary action,” he said. “On the positive side, this is a pipe that has already exceeded its life expectancy, and with the school district paying for the pavement of Howard Street (near Hoover Elementary), we need to take the necessary steps to correct it.”
(Sue Suchyta can be reached at [email protected])