The first phase of River Forest’s annual Street Improvement Program kicked off last week with street pavement patching and will continue this month with resurfacing and rehabilitation throughout the village.
Schroeder Asphalt Services began patching sections of various streets by cutting out pieces of asphalt in poor condition and resurfacing those sections, said Public Works Director Phil Cotter. That process took a few days, and more streets will have work done beginning in mid-July.
Portions of Ashland Avenue, Forest Avenue, Park Avenue and Clinton Place will be resurfaced, which includes milling of the existing pavement surface to replace it with a base layer and a surface layer of hot mix asphalt, according to a description on the village’s website. Gutters and curbs in poor condition will also be replaced and necessary repairs will be made to manholes, drainage structures and fire hydrants.
Rehabilitation is scheduled for Iowa Street from Harlem to the dead end, which is the same work as resurfacing except the base layer is not replaced. The process is used on streets where damage mostly affects the surface and not the base layer.
On parts of Park Avenue, Park Drive, Vine Street, Augusta Street and Oak Avenue, micro-surfacing will occur. Schroeder will apply a durable asphalt seal to those sections that have started to show signs of aging and moderate distress, the website said. Micro-surfacing slows the natural breakdown of the existing surface and extends the road’s lifespan by several years.
Cotter said his department will deliver notices to people on the affected blocks that will lay out the construction schedule. On-street parking will not be allowed on those blocks during the projects, but streets will be open to through traffic. Cotter said some residents might have limited access to their driveways if adjacent curb sections need to be replaced. The work will likely be done by mid-August.
The street projects are part of the Capital Improvement Plan and will be paid for with $728,350 from the village’s motor fuel tax fund.