Journal & Topics Media Group

Pesky Palatine Water Main Due For Replacement


Palatine has taken the first step toward replacing a water main at the Palatine Road/Winston Drive intersection. The main experienced three breaks last year, not only disrupting water delivery for surrounding homes, but forcing the village to close traffic lanes in order to repair the leaks.

During Monday’s (Jan. 7) meeting, the Palatine Village Council voted unanimously to contract Gewalt Hamilton Associates to design the new water main and prepare the bid documents necessary to carry out the actual replacement. The village is expected to complete the water main replacement sometime this fall.

According to a staff memo to the village council, last year, the Illinois Department of Transportation started preliminary engineering work for a box culvert under the section of Palatine Road directly west of Winston Drive. Under the standard procedure in situations like this, IDOT notified the village so that it can look into whether the work would interfere with village utilities.

The memo notes that Palatine has a 10-inch water main and 8-inch sanitary sewer running under Palatine Road itself, and a 10-inch water main crossing Palatine Road under the intersection. It’s that latter water main that has been causing problems.

Palatine is proposing removing the leak-prone main under the intersection altogether and potentially realigning the pipes under Palatine Road, moving them away from the road and under the land nearby. The village chose Vernon Hills-based Gewalt Hamilton Associates because it has experience replacing Palatine water mains and securing the necessary permits. It will be paid $29,872 to conduct the site surveys, prepare construction and engineering documents, estimate how much the construction will cost and help the village obtain permits from state and federal agencies.

According to GHA’s bid document, the firm expects to complete its work within eight weeks of receiving the contract. Once that happens, plans would still need to go through the village approval process, as well as approval from IDOT, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Assuming permits are obtained within reasonable time, Palatine expects to start construction sometime this fall.

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