Sewer project aims to relieve flooding

At least three times each year, it rains hard enough that dozens of Crestwood residents living near 135th Street and Central Avenue experience flooding, according to acting village Mayor Ken Klein.

A $7.6 million project kicked off Tuesday by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District is expected to make that flooding a thing of the past, Klein said following a groundbreaking ceremony.

The work is expected to be completed by fall 2023, and includes installing a 6-foot diameter storm sewer under 135th Street, from Central to the nearby Crestwood Drainage Ditch to the east, and improving the ability of that ditch to handle a greater flow of water, according to the district.

Stormwater drainage culverts to the north, under Cal-Sag Road, will also be improved.

The start of work in the coming weeks follows eight years of planning, engineering and analysis, according to MWRD.

“They’re just thrilled for it,” Klein said of residents.

Klein was named acting mayor last year after Lou Presta stepped down from the job before pleading guilty to federal bribery charges and being sentenced last month to a year in prison. Klein, a village trustee and Presta’s son-in-law, will be eligible to run for a full term as mayor in spring 2023.

With the increasing prevalence of significant downpours, flooding has become of greater concern in the 135th/Central area, where some 200 homes are affected, he said following Tuesday’s ceremony.

Klein said Tinley Creek, the waterway to the immediate west of that area, can’t handle the volume of water produced by those storms.

Many years ago, under former Crestwood Mayor Chester Stranczek, a dike had been erected to try to divert the flow of stormwater from the creek, but the new sewer should be a permanent solution to the problem, Klein said.

The new sewer line will run under 135th from just east of Central to connect with the Crestwood Drainage Ditch, also referred to as the Laramie Ditch, which runs north and south to the west of Cicero Avenue.

Like Tinley Creek, it empties into the Calumet Sag Channel to the north, and some of the work MWRD will do includes clearing overgrown vegetation and

stabilizing the Crestwood Creek’s banks to improve the flow of water, according to the district.

The project is expected to result in 82 homes and businesses being removed from the flood plain, which would relieve those property owners of the requirement that they carry flood insurance, Klein said.

In conjunction with the sewer work, Crestwood will widen 135th Street to add a center turn lane, and install sidewalks along the north side of 135th, particularly along the stretch in front of the Nathan Hale schools, he said.

While there are sidewalks on the south side of 135th Street, they’re spotty on the north side, and a concern has been the safety of children walking to and from the schools, Klein said.

“We’ve always wanted sidewalks on 135th,” he said.

Klein said he did not know offhand the cost of the widening and sidewalk work, but that Crestwood has received grant money to offset some of the cost.

Installing the new storm sewer will involve crossing over school property. Cook County Elementary District 130, which operates the schools, has agreed to easements to allow the construction work as well as rebuilding of a junction structure on school property, where the new sewer line will connect with the drainage ditch.

District 130 Board President William Werner said Tuesday he didn’t anticipate the construction would interfere with school activities. Werner said much of the work might take place during the summer.

“That is what they’re shooting for,” he said.

Werner said the project “is a win-win for everybody,” noting the flood control benefits and the new sidewalks for the school.