City manager: West Main reconstruction nearing finish after cost overruns and utility challenges

City Manager Kevin Varquette briefed the City of Geneva Council on Sept. 22 on progress, costs and remaining work for the West Main Street reconstruction project.

Varquette said the project replaced aging, unstable subsurface utilities under West Main — sanitary and storm lines and more than 80 service laterals — and encountered difficult sandy soils, voids and legacy trolley rails that complicated excavation. He said initial planning estimates put the entire project at about $3.9 million; “it’s now well over $10,000,000,” he said, and that figure covers approximately 75% of the corridor work. Varquette said the city has secured $2 million toward the remaining phase, but that phase is currently programmed for federal fiscal 2029 with construction in 2028 unless additional grants accelerate it.

Varquette described coordination with a construction management team, Mannix Smith, and contractor Fabrizzi, praising the contractor’s day-to-day work under difficult conditions and noting utility conflicts and supply-chain issues have slowed progress. “We’re very, very close,” he said, adding that utility tie-ins and unforeseen subsurface issues remain daily challenges.

Varquette said the sanitary and storm work and the subsurface stabilization were necessary to prevent further failures and that the project’s extended schedule and higher cost reflect years of deferred infrastructure investment and rising construction costs. He asked for continued public patience and said the city aimed to finish major components by the latter part of October, with final completion dependent on remaining utility work.

Ending: Varquette said the city would continue routine updates through construction management and encouraged residents to use posted project notices and the city’s updates for timing and traffic information.