The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) is performing structure rehabilitation and pipelining along 175th Street and Ridgeland Avenue in order to update the infrastructure and prevent further deterioration of the existing pipes and structures, which were installed in the 1960s. This is an MWRD project and will incur no cost to the Village of Tinley Park.
Please note the black tubes running along 167th Street are used for bypass pumping of the MWRD sanitary sewer.
Work involves the rehabilitation/replacement of the MWRD junction chamber. The district has given notice to proceed with engineering and utility coordination. Engineering is underway, and ComEd coordination has begun. If electrical service can be coordinated in a timely manner, then the tentative start date is late September 2018. If electrical service coordination takes a long time, it's likely the project will be delayed until the spring. MWRD indicated that if the project gets delayed until spring, then it will break down the site and set it back up in the spring so traffic isn’t impacted throughout the winter.
Work is being performed by Insituform Technologies USA, with Airy’s, Inc. of Tinley Park as subcontractor for Insituform. Work involves reconstruction of certain sections of badly deteriorated sewer. Instead of digging up and replacing the old pipeline, Insituform will insert a special lining inside the pipe, creating a new, smooth-surfaced, long-lasting pipe within the old pipe. Repairs are extremely important, as failure of these pipes could result in sinkholes, service interruptions and invasive boring for emergency repairs.
As part of the project, Oak Forest Avenue was closed to all traffic from 167th Street to the Santa Maria Convent at 6101 Oak Forest Avenue in order to build pipe segments for a bypass system. This portion of the road was closed for about four weeks beginning June 1 and ending June 30. The road is now open. Please also note that, during construction, a portion of 175th Street will be down to one lane only.
Due to the depth and diameter of the sewer which is going to be rehabilitated, operations will run 24 hours a day from Monday to Friday. Residents will be notified 24 hours prior to work beginning in their area. Work will not affect sewer service. Certain equipment will be left on overnight, which may result in some noise. Noise is equivalent to the sound of a lawn mower from 100 feet away.
Certain smells associated with styrene, a substance used in construction, may be present. Residents are advised to open their windows to dissipate any smell that enters their homes. Residents also may encounter intermittent sewer smells. Residents can pour a cup or two of water into each basement floor drain to keep the “trap” full, which prevents sewer odor from coming into your home. Because the water evaporates, this should be done regularly.
Overnight lights will be used but are not expected to be a nuisance to residents.
The Village’s Freedom Pond project and Bremen High School District 228’s turf field project at Tinley Park High School will be occurring in the same area. The Freedom Pond project will primarily send its trucks southbound on Ridgeland Avenue, and the turf field project will send its trucks primarily eastbound on 175th Street. All construction trucks are required to use Cook County roads due to weight restrictions.
For more information, please call Insituform Technologies USA at (708) 326-5101.