Construction crews soon excavating downtown Yorkville, scheduled to not interfere with outdoor dining

Construction crews are excavating the downtown area in Yorkville this fall as the town pushes ahead on work for the $100 million Lake Michigan water sourcing project.

Water main work along the east alley in the downtown Hydraulic District will stretch from east of Bridge Street, to between E. Hydraulic Avenue and E. Van Emmon Street.

Yorkville is taking care of its end of the project, while recently receiving bad news further up the pipeline. The project, in partnership with the DuPage Water Commission, with costs split between Yorkville, Montgomery, and Oswego, is coming in way over initial cost estimates.

Yorkville is aiming to complete all necessary infrastructure by 2027 to prevent delaying the first water coming down the pipes in 2028.

“This project was bid separate from the larger water main replacement project that is taking place on the south side to ensure that we started late as possible in the year to not interfere with the outdoor dining in the east alley,” Public Works Director Eric Dhuse said in city documents.

The work in the downtown area consists of a combination of roadway improvements, and water and sewer construction.

Before construction can begin, the city council needs to approve at its Aug. 26 meeting a $728,481 contract with Winninger, Excavating, Inc. and a separate $92,085 contract with Engineering Enterprises, Inc. to oversee the project.

The entire downtown Hydraulic District is being slated for a massive renovation, transforming the area into a public events plaza, complete with a band shell, upgraded business facades and decorative walkways.

To move ahead with the transformative work, the city is taking strides on an environmental pollution clean-up in the area from decades of industrial and agricultural products and chemicals seeping into the soil.

City planners hope the work will someday spur mix-use residential and commercial developments near the Fox River.