by Mayor Jeffrey T. Sherwin
In the last newsletter, I talked about how we keep older buildings and facilities functioning and relevant for the 21st century. Now I want to bring you up to date on what’s new in Northlake. First off, the playground at Fulroy park is in the process of being replaced with a state-of-the-art new playground with a rubberized play surface. We expect this work will be completed before winter. A new water main is being installed on the 100 block of North Roy Avenue, along with the replacement of 11 lead water services. The sanitary sewer is also being rehabbed and lined with a poly-fiber lining. A new municipal parking lot will be built at 332 E. North Avenue, providing 15 additional parking spaces to serve the businesses in the area. This work will also be done before winter.
Work continues on the construction of the new 3,000,000 gallon water reservoir and the rebuilding of the City’s main water pumping station, at Hansen Park on the south side of the City.
Traffic signal modernization on Wolf Road will continue at Palmer and Wolf. The City was able to secure grant funding to cover 80% of this cost along with the signal modernization project which is finishing up at Wolf and Wiltse Drive.
The storm water management areas at Wolf and Wiltse and on East Drive are almost completed and were funded through a partnership between the City of Northlake, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and the Addison Creek River Conservancy District.
We also expect the water system interconnection with the Village of Franklin Park to be completed by the end of the year.
The City’s 2026 infrastructure program will include water main replacement and resurfacing on Victoria Drive, Soffel Avenue, East Drive, West Drive and Palmer Avenue west of Wolf Road. Phase II of the Fulroy Park renovation will also take place which will cover the rest of the park outside of the playground which is being replaced this year. Hansen Park, with its playground, will also be rebuilt upon completion of the 3,000,000 reservoir. The City was fortunate to receive grant funding from Cook County under its Invest in Cook Program and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) ($365,000 total) to assist with the Victoria Drive Project.
The major construction headache at North Avenue and the Tollway, a project managed by the Cook County Department of Transportation, is entering its final phase and hopefully we will see relief by spring.
