Will I-294 Project Hurt Western Springs?

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – A Western Springs resident with an engineering background expressed concern late last year that the Interstate 294 expansion project would cause flooding in his neighborhood.

The village asked the Illinois Tollway about it. In response, the agency's consultant told the village the project would not add to flooding.

In an email to officials last December, resident David Fulghum, a registered professional engineer, said his bank had notified him that his property on 49th Court South was now in a flood zone. He said the "infamous" 49th Street ditch was in his backyard.

"There is a significant stormwater problem between Hinsdale and the Tollway," Fulghum said. "The amount of stormwater discharged into the 49th Street ditch and Flagg Creek is three times what is allowed by law."

He said he was basing his numbers on a report by Patrick Engineering to his homeowners association in the Commonwealth neighborhood.

"The folks in Hinsdale speak up – they got a much better deal – they live in homes that are worth 10 times what our homes are worth," Fulghum said. "Maybe there's a lesson here."

A week after Fulghum's email, TranSystems, which is handling flooding issues for the multi-billion I-294 expansion, informed the village that the project would not hurt the Commonwealth neighborhood.

The firm said the stormwater system and detention basins have been sized to capture all the runoff from the new pavement.

"Land acquisition necessary for project drainage was already included in the land needs shared with communities and homeowners," engineer John Sadler of TranSystems said in its report to the village.

He also said the Tollway was improving the 49th Street ditch upstream and installing detention basins on the west side of the highway to ensure the flow of water into the ditch stays the same.

Fulghum questioned whether Patrick Engineering was truly independent, given its work on the I-294 project. The firm, he said, was "very careful" to avoid reporting anything that could be damaging to the Tollway.

But Dan Rozek, a Tollway spokesman, said Patrick's report to the homeowners association was independent and that it concurred with the agency's evaluation.

"Again, to be clear, while Patrick Engineering has done work for the Tollway on the (I-294) Project, in this instance it was retained by the homeowner’s association to do its own review of the Tollway’s work and agreed with the agency’s conclusions that our work wouldn’t affect Commonwealth residents," Rozek said in an email

Rozek also said his agency has worked closely with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, which regulates drainage in the suburbs.