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Kankakee mayor says $7 million Hobby Avenue rebuild will fix chronic flooding after utility relocations
Summary
Mayor Chris Curtis updated the Kankakee City Council on the Hobby Avenue Road reconstruction, a roughly $7 million, nearly one-mile project. Utilities—including water mains, gas, electric poles, sewer and fiber—have been relocated; paving is scheduled to begin in spring.
Mayor Chris Curtis updated the Kankakee City Council on the Hobby Avenue Road reconstruction project, saying the nearly one-mile, $7,000,000 effort will rebuild the roadway to the subsurface and reduce chronic flooding in the area.
Curtis said the work is a full rebuild rather than a mill-and-overlay job and includes new curbs, sidewalks, ADA accessibility improvements, rail guard crossings and the relocation and replacement of utilities. “This is a $7,000,000 project that is nearly 1 mile in length, crosses 2 railroads, and is designed to alleviate the flooding problems for this area,” he said.
The mayor attributed earlier delays to extensive utility relocations. He told the council that Aqua Illinois moved up planned water-main work and invested nearly $4,000,000 to replace an 8-inch and a 24-inch water main so the city would not have to tear up the road again in a few years. “They agreed to, and they started engineering work immediately,” Curtis said, adding the company completed engineering, bidding and construction so the mains would be in place before paving.
Curtis said other utilities already relocated or replaced include a 6-inch gas line, Commonwealth Edison poles for lighting and electric service, sewer improvements aimed at reducing flooding, and AT&T fiber. He said paving was delayed by winter weather and the seasonal closure of the asphalt plant; he expects to begin new concrete work in April so it can cure properly, followed by asphalt placement once the plant reopens.
The mayor apologized for the delay and framed the project as a long-term infrastructure improvement for the city’s east and north sides. “When this is done, this will be one of the most important infrastructure improvements on the East and North side of Kankakee in many years,” Curtis said, adding that the rebuilt road will be safer and less prone to flooding.
No formal motions, votes or funding-source resolutions were recorded in the update; Curtis presented the status and timeline to the council as an informational briefing.
