June 21, 2023
Major Capital Improvement Project Begins in Park City
Today, the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (SMC) and the City of Park City celebrated the beginning of construction on the Park City Stormwater Capital Improvement project. This project is a long-awaited infrastructure improvement that will alleviate flooding to more than 800 properties in Park City.
Construction will include the installation of large box culverts, storm sewer system upgrades extending from Illinois Route 120 south to Greenbelt Forest Preserve, and replacing the stormwater system restrictor plate at the Casmir Pulaski Drive culvert. This project was marked as a high priority for a capital improvement grant because this area of Park City is located at the headwaters of the Skokie River, resulting in a large chance of flooding.
“Increasing rain levels in our area have broken records and caused millions of dollars in damage to properties, in addition to obstructing the lives of Lake County residents and visitors,” said Stormwater Management Commission Executive Director Kurt Woolford. “SMC’s goal is to never see our County’s residents suffer again like they did during the 2017 flood event.”
The impact of flooding has been well documented and disruptive to this area. Main roadways such as Washington Street and Belvidere Road, along with numerous local roads, have been closed because of flooding. Washington Street has been closed eight times in the last five years because of flooding, and during the July 2017 flood event, it was closed for two days. Major road closures like this not only affects local residents, but also commuters. During the July 2017 flood event, 22 properties, mostly residential, also reported some level of structural damage.
“This project will ease some of the impacts that residents in this area have endured,” said Lake County District 14 Board Member Angelo Kyle. “I’m so glad that through collaboration with our state and local partners, we can ease the financial hardship that comes with flood damage to the residents who own homes and businesses located in this floodplain.”
“SMC’s dedicated work and planning secured the funding for not only this project, but many more across our county that will upgrade our aging infrastructure and make the lives of our hardworking residents a little easier,” said Lake County Board Vice-Chair Mary Ross-Cunningham.
Additional funding for this project was provided by our local sponsor of Park City who contributed $42,527. Lake County will be granted a total of $122 million in funding by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to support local initiatives in managing regional stormwater and related infrastructure maintenance and improvement projects to reduce flooding for hard-hit communities across Lake County. Future project locations include: Antioch, Grayslake, Highland Park, Warren Township, and Waukegan.
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