$1M Burr Ridge Drainage Project Delayed

BURR RIDGE, IL – A major Burr Ridge flood control project is delayed until next year.

In April, the village chose the low bidder for the $1 million drainage project near Elm Elementary School. The goal was to get it done by the time school started.

Now, Burr Ridge is postponing the construction until next spring.

"Nicor is still working on relocating their lines from the work site, and we could not guarantee that construction would be completed in a timely manner prior to winter when materials do not set and dry properly," the village's administrator, Evan Walter, said in an email to Patch on Friday. "Similarly, had we begun and not finished, we would have had to close the road all winter, thus inconveniencing everyone who uses Elm Street in their daily lives."

The flooding is the result of water going to the deteriorating Elm Street culvert from several towns, according to the village.

"It's not just our neighborhoods, but it really does convey 3.7 square miles of watershed, spanning back to Darien, Willowbrook and Clarendon Hills, all coming back to that point on Elm Street," Burr Ridge's public works director, David Preissig, told the Village Board in April. "That's a huge area that really is draining through that small metal pipe."

A few times a year, Elm Street floods, sometimes requiring street closures, he said.

The village received $785,000 from the federal government and $50,000 from DuPage County for the project. The village's portion is $204,000.