Possible Soil Contamination Found in Parking Lot

Workers have discovered possible soil contamination in the West Parking Lot project, which has forced the village to closed off a section of the lot for longer than expected, according to Marty Wittrock, acting superintendent of Streets and Utilities.

“The good news is [Aldridge Electric] were going gangbusters; they have a couple of holes set and duct work done,” Wittrock said during the Parking Commission meeting. “The bad news is they ran into some contaminated soil that’s why you don’t see any work out there right now,”

In January, the Village Board awarded the $427,000 project to Aldridge Electric. As part of a surface improvement project, the company is working to bury utilities lines in the parking lot behind the Village Hall and the rear of businesses on N. Milwaukee Avenue.

“The goal was certainly not to close that much area at one time but the dirt is still sitting there, it should have been hauled out,” Wittrock said. “Unfortunately the testing takes a week ‘till we get the test results back to determine where the soil can be dumped.”

Wittrock says Aldridge expects to get the results back on May 19. If the soil is contaminated, it would have to be treated as special waste and could affect construction costs.

“It may increase our cost,” Wittrock said.

The village is hoping the contamination is confined to a small area but workers will continue to test the soil as work moves toward north of the lot.

John Timony, owner of Curtis Frame and Back Alley Gallery, was concerned the soil contamination and construction affect parking during Libertyville Days, which takes place June 16 -19. Wittrock says most of the construction equipment will be removed during that time, with the exception of a few parking spots.

“I don’t see a problem having basically most of the lot in usable shape for Libertyville Days,” Wittrock said. “As they work along [the lot], they are restoring it right back to the condition it was in.”

Wittrock expects workers to finish burying utility lines by September.

The bids were recently opened for the second phase of the surface improvement project. Once utility lines are buried, the village plans to reconfigure the lot to a north/south format with sidewalks added behind businesses on the west side of Milwaukee Avenue.

The project is expected to cost $1.3 million and is funded through a tax-increment financing district. If the bids come in significantly higher than the village estimates then the resurfacing project may be delayed until next year.

“The bids look very good but we are not quite ready to get a number to the board for a recommendation until we have all the [bids in],” Wittrock said.