Construction on North Cummings Lane is seven weeks behind, and traffic will be rerouted beginning Monday in an effort to expedite the project.
Work on the roadway has been suspended since June 1 due to “Verizon’s prolonged delays in relocating its underground phone cables,” said city administrator Bob Morris.
A major component of the $890,000 project is the installation of a new storm sewer infrastructure, which will help drain water that collects in the ditches on either side of Cummings. But work on the new sewer system was at a stand still until Verizon moved its cables.
City engineer Ken Newman said the phone company finally moved the cables Friday, and work on the sewer system was expected to resume Tuesday, weather permitting. Work on the sewer system should be completed by the end of the week, allowing road construction crews to resume their work next week.
“They tell us they have everything out of the way, and I hope we don’t run into anything more,” Newman said.
Beginning Monday, residents living west of Cummings will need to use the Chestnut Lane detour to get both in and out. Residents living east of Cummings will be able to use Jadens Way, eastbound traffic only.
Access to Cranford Drive will continue to be via the detour from Chestnut to Inglewood Road.
Traffic on Cummings between Chestnut and Jadens and also north of Santa Fe Road will continue to be one way, northbound only.
Newman said the original goal date for completion of the project, including all cosmetic work such as grass seeding, was Oct. 2. Though Newman said that date is no longer realistic, he said he is still hopeful that all roadway and sidewalk work will be finished by then.
“We are hopeful that the project will get mostly back on track,” Newman said. “We wanted the road work to be done by the beginning of school, but there’s no doubt that will continue until mid to late September.”
Despite the seven-week construction hiatus, Newman said the city will not incur much extra cost, aside from a few thousand dollars to extend the inspection and engineering supervisor’s contract.
“Under our construction contract, we don’t see that we’re going to have to pay a whole lot more,” he said.
Still, Newman said, it has been a “frustrating process,” and Verizon had no excuse to delay its responsibilities for nearly two months.
The telephone company had frequent communication, including several pre-construction meetings, with city officials in the months leading up to the project, Newman said.
Morton also reportedly had problems with Verizon and has had to postpone a project on East Jefferson Street because of the phone company’s failure to relocate its utilities.
Verizon announced in mid May its plans to sell 4.5 million landlines and related assets in 14 states, including Illinois, to Frontier Communications, which one consumer rights group said may explain the inaction.
“We just learned of the situation, but its clearly become a problem if Verizon is not honoring its commitments,” said Patrick Deignan, a communications assistant for the Citizens Utility Group, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that represents the interests of Illinois’ residential utility customers.
“Verizon is trying to sell its landline assets to another company. In the meantime, while that sale is being reviewed by the FCC, it needs to continue with its responsibilities,” he added.
Washington, Ill. —
