Spellman Avenue Reconstruction Project Takes Another Step

In order to meet the Metropolitan Sewer District’s clean water requirements and obtain approval for the Spellman Avenue Phase I project, the has to design a number of best management practices to control storm water.

The city is in the process of designing the reconstruction of Spellman Avenue from Rayburn Avenue to Ponderosa Drive, and MSD requires a pervious (allowing water to flow through) concrete sidewalk along Spellman Avenue, a pervious asphalt walking trail through Spellman Park, a pervious asphalt parking lot in and a vegetated retention pond near the entrance to Spellman Park. In order to ensure best management practices are maintained in the future and function as intended, MSD now is requiring municipalities to enter into a maintenance agreement. 

Director of Public Services James Eckrich explained to the Board of Alderman last week that pervious technology is more prevalent in the last five years.

“It allows space in the aggregate for water to flow through. It’s constructed a little differently so that there is a clean rock below it that allows water to go through it,” Eckrich said. 

Pervious concrete has a retention base, which means there will almost always be water in it, even though it will drain down to almost nothing. Even though Spellman Park is owned by the city, MSD is the regulating authority.

“In order to construct the project we are increasing the impervious area in our right of way, so we have to meet certain requirements,” Eckrich said. “So, the board has to approve this if they want to do the Spellman project.”

The pervious plan was approved.