Submitted By
Bill McKenna, Village Engineer
Agenda Item Title
Title
A Presentation Regarding Updates to the Lake Street Resurfacing, Utility, and Streetscaping Projects and Discussion on Upcoming Streetscape Schedule in the Hemingway Business District
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Overview
Overview
The three separate Lake Street projects for Street Resurfacing, Water & Sewer Improvements, and Streetscaping have been underway since early this year. Work on the water & sewer project is substantially complete and the street resurfacing project will be completed, except for landscaping, in early July. The streetscape project from Harlem to Euclid is currently on schedule for completing work in Downtown Oak Park and ahead of schedule for completing work from Forest Avenue to Oak Park Avenue, with both areas on track to be substantially completed by early August. Work is scheduled to start in the Hemingway Business District in early August which will close Lake Street to outdoor dining, pending a discussion and direction on potential scheduling options.
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Anticipated Future Actions/Commitments
Recommendation
There is no anticipated future action should the Streetscaping project stay on its current schedule. Should the Village Board direct staff to suspend work in the Hemingway District, the Village will be required to pay additional costs for any labor increases, remobilizing the contractors, storing materials, and increased material costs due to time. There will only be minimal additional costs for delaying the start till after Labor Day (Option 2).
Body
Report
There are three major projects on Lake Street which have been under construction since early this year: (1) streetscaping from Harlem to Euclid, (2) water and sewer main improvements from Grove to Euclid, and (3) street resurfacing from Euclid to Austin. A brief status of each of these three projects is presented at the end of this report.
The streetscape project is scheduled to start work in the Hemingway Business District in mid-July for traffic signal work. Full construction requiring partial sidewalk closure and closing Lake Street from east of the Oak Park intersection to west of the Euclid intersection will start at the beginning of August which will require closing the area to outdoor dining. Work in the Hemingway District is approximately 3 months duration. Per plan, traffic would be maintained on Oak Park Ave except when laying the bricks for 3-5 days but staff is reviewing options for a full closure for installation of crosswalks and bricks which will dramatically speed up the work in the intersection.
Due to loss of business as a result of the COVID pandemic and the recent installation of the outdoor dining in the parking lanes on Lake Street, staff is requesting direction from the Village Board on any potential suspension of the project on Lake Street from Oak Park Avenue to Euclid Avenue to allow for businesses to recover. Three options are presented below for schedules in this area for discussion.
The Hemingway Business District and staff discussed these options with its members. Although there is no unanimous support for any one option the majority of businesses which provided feedback preferred Option 2 (Labor Day), with 2 businesses preferring Option 3 (Spring 2021), and 1 business preferring Option 1 (No delay). The Hemingway Business District Association Board is recommending suspending work in this area until immediately after the Labor Day weekend in early September which allows time for the restaurants to take advantage of the summer months for outdoor dining and recovery while also allowing for the project to be completed this year with minimal cost increases due to the suspension of the project.
Scheduling Options:
Option 1: (No construction suspension/delay)
• Construction would occur as soon as mid-July for temporary traffic signals which will still allow for the majority of Lake Street to use outdoor dining except near the intersection.
• Streetscape work would start in early August with removals of the curbs and portion of the sidewalk behind curbs which would close the area for outdoor dining and traffic.
• Estimated completion date for the project would be mid to late October ahead of original schedule which was Thanksgiving.
• No construction cost increases.
• Construction contract deadlines and requirements are still enforceable.
Option 2: (Suspend construction till after Labor Day)
• Delay work in Hemingway District which impacts outdoor dining and traffic flow until September 8th following Labor Day.
• Restaurants will have summer months to use sidewalks and parking lanes for outdoor dining to help recover from loss of business during COVID pandemic.
• Work allowed to occur west of Oak Park Avenue or for items not impacting businesses near Euclid intersection.
• Estimated construction completion would be early-mid December.
• Work completed this year and not dragged out until next year
• Will work with contractor on options for expediting work and premium time
• Some additional costs will likely be incurred for any remobilizations of contractors which have no work to do.
• Some risk of losing subcontractors to other jobs.
• Loss of ability to enforce contract deadlines
Option 3: (Suspend construction till spring of 2021)
• Delay work in Hemingway District from Oak Park Avenue intersection to Euclid until spring of 2021.
• Allows most time for business recovery
• Pending Village Board direction, restaurants could use summer and fall months for outdoor dining on sidewalks and parking lanes.
• Estimated restarting construction in mid to late March of 2021 depending on weather.
• Work estimated to be completed by late June or early July 2021, depending on weather.
• Existing temporary pavements and sidewalks would remain until work resumes in 2021.
• Substantial additional costs incurred for remobilizing construction, labor increases, material storage, winterization, material cost increases, etc.
• Additional costs for construction management.
• Loss of ability to enforce contract deadlines.
Project Status Update:
Lake Street Resurfacing (Euclid to Austin)
• The project was originally intended to start in early June after schools were done due to its proximity to OPRF and D97 schools. With schools being closed due to COVID work was started in May and at an accelerated schedule due to lower traffic volumes.
• With the relocation of the farmer market to being on-street, the Village Board approved an amendment to the contract to include the resurfacing of Scoville Avenue due to its deteriorated condition. Work was completed within two weeks in time for the first farmers market.
• Work was originally scheduled for completion at the end of August but with the early start and accelerated pace, work is scheduled to be completed by early July except for landscaping which will wait till September for appropriate weather.
Lake Street Water and Sewer Main Improvements (Grove to Euclid)
• The project started in late February of this year.
• Work is substantially complete except for some remaining punch list work for a hydrant removal and storm drain improvements at the northwest corner of the Euclid intersection which will be completed when the streetscape project is doing work in the same area
• Work in the intersection of Oak Park Ave and Lake Street took longer than anticipated due to AT&T conflicts and their work.
• Nicor is still working on transferring individual gas services from their old gas mains to the newly installed mains in the alleys adjacent to this area. Nicor will cap off and abandon their old gas mains on Lake Street here following completion of the service transfers.
Lake Street Streetscape (Harlem to Euclid)
• The project started in late March of this year.
• Work in DTOP is currently on schedule with the area between Harlem and Forest Avenue scheduled for substantial completion in early August.
• Work in the middle section from Forest to Oak Park Ave is ahead of schedule and is scheduled to be completed in early August. Work was originally projected to be completed in September.
• Work is on track to start in the Hemingway District in mid-July for traffic signals with removals of curbs and sidewalks and road closures scheduled for early August, pending Village Board direction.
• ComEd will be reconstructing two large underground vaults by the Lake Street Theater and by the AT&T building later this summer.
• A separate private permit project for fiber optic communications and small cell equipment has been in coordination for years and will be starting later this summer.
Alternatives
An alternative to the current schedule would be to delay work in the Hemingway District from Oak Park Avenue to Euclid Avenue to allow for time for the businesses to recover from the impacts of COVID and resume the project in early Spring of 2021. Depending on the option being recommended, the Village would be required to pay all additional costs for labor increases, remobilizing the contractors, storing materials, and material costs due to time. Additional costs for Option 2 (Labor Day) are minimal for potentially remobilizing any contractors that may have left the project temporarily and for any items such as pavement striping which may need to be completed in the spring due to temperature constraints. Costs are not known at this time for Option 3 (Spring 2021) but would likely be in the range of $100,000 to $300,000.