As Flossmoor prepares to move to a new system of repairing local streets, village board members approved this year’s road resurfacing program.
Three streets ― a total of 1.1 miles ― will be resurfaced in this year’s program. They are Heather Hill Crescent from Lawrence Crescent to Sunset Avenue, Verne Lane from School Street to Wallace Drive and Holly Lane from Vollmer Road to the end of the street.
D Construction Inc. of Coal City was awarded a $240,467 contract for the resurfacing work, which is expected to take place in September or October. The bulk of the project, about $220,000, will be financed by state Motor Fuel Tax (MFT) funds. Flossmoor will pick up the additional $20,467.
The village board approved the contract at the Aug. 7 meeting.
MFT money has been distributed to municipalities for local road repairs for many years. Under Flossmoor’s MFT program, about 1.25 miles of roadway are resurfaced each year, and at a cost of $220,000.
Starting next year, the village plans to move away from resurfacing, which is costly and can only take place annually at only a few streets. That “worst first” strategy targets streets in the poorest condition. The new strategy will focus on preventive maintenance, with methods like crack sealing and patching, so that crews can repair more streets.
Public Works Director John Brunke told the H-F Chronicle that the new program will be developed over the winter.
“Once we have that completed, we will have a plan for next year,” he said.
At this time, it’s not clear how many more streets will be maintained under the new system, Brunke said.
In recent years, MFT allotments from the state have declined. In towns like Flossmoor ― which depend on the funds for street repairs and winter salt purchases ― that’s been a real problem.
This year, the village expects to receive a total of $250,000 in MFT money from the state, Brunke said. Once the street resurfacing project is completed, that will leave Flossmoor with $30,000 for salt going into the winter months.
In 2014, the village received $375,000 in MFT money and budgeted $140,000 for salt.
Brunke said the smaller amount for salt this year is not a cause for concern.
“We are buying roughly half of the salt this year that we usually do,” he said. “But the difference in cost is also directly related to the decrease in salt price due a large supply in the region left from the warm winter last year.”