Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Streets Pavement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents urge Mundelein to prioritize McKinley Avenue repairs; village cites cost and grant timeline
Summary
Residents from the Fairhaven subdivision pressed the Village of Mundelein to repair McKinley Avenue, describing safety hazards and repeated delays. Village officials said full reconstruction is costly, remains in the five-year capital window and depends on outside funding; staff estimated the project would fall in year 3–5.
Residents asked the Village of Mundelein on Dec. 9 to accelerate work on McKinley Avenue, which speakers described as dangerously deteriorated and a recurring safety problem for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
"Back in 2020 ... the PCI ratings for McKinley Avenue were between 27 and 36, which is considered very poor," said Michelle Kanovic, an 18-year resident of Fairhaven, citing a pavement management analysis. She said potholes and uneven pavement have caused flat tires and falls and urged the village to make full replacement a priority rather than repeatedly postponing work.
Allison Crawford, who lives at 741 McKinley Avenue, said patchwork repairs are no longer sufficient: "These temporary fixes will leave the street riddled with potholes and crumbling edges, making it increasingly unsafe." She noted McKinley serves walkers, cyclists and students using the nearby North Shore bike path and school routes.
Sherry Sravheimer, who said she has lived in the neighborhood most of her life, blamed recent heavy construction traffic from the Cardinal Square development for accelerating damage and asked whether the village will hold builders financially accountable for roadway harm.
Mayor (as identified in the transcript) and public works staff responded that the village treats McKinley as a priority but faces substantial cost and design challenges. Public Works staff said McKinley sits in a 100-foot right-of-way that would require a full redesign and reconstruction, and that reconstruction and below-ground work must draw on different funding sources than surface resurfacing.
"It's an incredibly expensive reconstruction project," a Public Works representative said, and staff noted repeated attempts to pursue grants (ITEP, CDBG and a community project request). The staff estimate presented to the board placed McKinley within the village's five-year capital planning window but not within the immediate 1–2 years; the staff said it is likely in the 3–5 year range.
Trustees and staff described the village's approach to pavement management as two-tiered: less-expensive scrape-and-overlay maintenance for roads with curbs and storm sewers, and full reconstruction when roads have failed and require new subgrade and storm infrastructure.
Next steps: Village staff said they will continue to pursue grant funding and bring design options and cost estimates back to the board; no new timeline beyond the 3–5 year window was adopted at the meeting.
