Evanston’s 7th Ward looks to see heavy construction activity this year with several major projects planned.
At a ward meeting Thursday, officials sketched out a hefty list for 2016, starting with a major water main replacement project on Sheridan Road currently underway and carrying through to the demolition of the Ladd Arboretum Windmill in fall.
Crews are already close to completing work on the Sheridan Road water main improvement, which runs from Chicago Avenue to Lincoln Street, said Lara Biggs, the city’s bureau manager of engineering and capital projects. She was addressing a full house of residents who turned out for the ward meeting held at the Ecology Center, 2024 McCormick Blvd.
The water main project is to serve as a prelude to further work on Sheridan Road. Construction of a two-way bike lane on the east side of the street running from Chicago to Lincoln is to take place in 2017.
In 2018, construction will continue on the portion of Sheridan running from Lincoln Street to Ridge Avenue, she said.
Residents have already raised concerns about the safety of the bike lanes, situated along a busy section of Sheridan Road. “There are taxis, there are pizza deliveries, there are Uber cars acting like taxis,” observed Linda Damashek, a resident at the meeting. “There are some many cars on the east side of Sheridan Road I can’t even fathom what the traffic stoppage situation will be.”
In 2016, officials also plan water main replacements for some easements running from Roslyn Place to Sheridan Place and Grant Street to McCormick.
In the work, officials are acting “proactively to relocate water mains,” Biggs said, to avoid situations such as a few years ago where old mains running under private property burst, causing extensive damage.
People whose properties will be affected have been notified, Biggs said. She said the city is applying to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for some low-interest loans supporting the program.
The ward also will be the scene for some other major activities.
The city is painting fire hydrants every five years, working across the city, Biggs said. The city has awarded a contract to Alpha Paintworks to paint fire hydrants in an area roughly bounded by Simpson Street on the south and Isabella on the north, between the Lake and McDaniel avenues, Biggs said.
The city painted hydrants purple a few years ago in a burst of pride for Northwestern University and the color its athletic teams sport.
The hydrants will be painted red in the current painting program, Biggs said.
The city is also hiring a contractor to rehabilitate the deck of the Isabella Street Bridge, which spans the North Shore Canal, and is located between Ashland And Asbury Ave.
Biggs said the bridge will likely be closed from approximately mid-July through Labor Day.
The Ladd Arboretum Windmill, built to demonstrate the use of alternative energy sources, is scheduled for demolition, starting in fall this year and running into 2017.
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