The Hillcrest Village Board heard an update June 10 from Village Engineer Kaitlin Wright of Baxter & Woodman on a short-term repair of the currently closed Hemstock Road bridge, which is owned by the village.

Last month, the board voted unanimously to waive competitive bidding for the repair and approved a $14,700 engineering services agreement for the work. The short-term repair of the bridge to reopen it in the coming months is estimated to cost a total of $100,000.

Wright said the framework of the repair has been provided to the Illinois Department of Transportation, which said it was “reasonable and sufficient.” IDOT requested the use of self-consolidating concrete for the work and a load rating analysis afterwards.

Alliance Contractors will be handing the work. The village was able to waive competitive bidding for the project due to it being an emergency.

Baxter & Woodman has reached out to Alliance about starting construction and formal plans will be needed for a price quote in the next few weeks, Wright said. A contract will be needed between the village and Alliance, but that will not require a vote by the board, Wright said.

The bridge was closed by IDOT in mid-October. In July, Ogle County inspected the bridge and found that its load rating declined sharply, from a 7 to a 4. After seeing those numbers, IDOT inspected the bridge in October and determined that steel piles that support it had deteriorated and that it should be closed. Baxter & Woodman, the village’s engineering firm, inspected the bridge on Nov. 6 and found that all eight steel piles are corroded, with two severely corroded and no longer supporting the bridge.

The temporary fix could last five years. Corroded parts of the two failing steel piles will be removed and then encased in concrete.

Wright said last month that the repair work will take about a week once it starts and IDOT will need to approve it before it reopens.

The bridge will require a long-term, full-scale replacement. The village will be pursuing 80% federal funding for construction, with Hillcrest paying $600,000 total for the remaining 20% of construction and all of the engineering cost. The village would fund the entirety of the project before being reimbursed. That project wouldn’t take place until 2028 or 2029 due to the federal funding system.

Ordinances

Trustees heard another presentation from Trustee William Peska on improving code enforcement in Hillcrest. Peska has been working on updating code language and trustees unanimously approved the creation of a part-time code enforcement officer position Wednesday.

The code enforcement officer would work 30 hours per week at a pay rate of $20-23 an hour, subject to change if needed. The village will now work to hire for the position.

Ordinance issues that brought about the changes have included noise, parking, property maintenance and animals.

“I think it’s long overdue to have someone actively making sure that ordinances are followed,” Peska said. “Because if you’re driving through the village, you see so many things that aren’t the way they’re supposed to be. Asking people politely to take care of it is not working.”

Village Attorney Paul Chadwick said he will be reviewing Peska’s ordinance language changes this month for potential approval by the board at its July meeting.

Salt shed

Wright and trustees discussed the potential construction of a new salt shed for village maintenance operations. Hillcrest has an existing concrete slab where one could be placed, and costs would include concrete blocks and a fabric-covered hoop structure.

Wright said options would include $80,000 for a structure that’s 26 by 50 feet, or $95,000 for a more reinforced structure of the same size with a better warranty. The village has funds budgeted for a new salt shed.

Village President Pro Tempore Dan Potter asked Wright for updated pricing and expressed the desire to revisit the potential expenditure next month.

“We really should have had that done long ago,” Potter said of a new salt shed.

Chip seal

Wright said that this summer, chip seal work will be done, including the entire Windover Park subdivision, Maple Avenue, Oak Avenue, Errett Road from Linda Avenue to Maple Avenue, and all of Bethel Road.

Hillcrest will then invoice White Rock Township for its portion of Bethel Road. Last month, trustees opted to chip seal all of Bethel Road after White Rock Township decided to not chip seal the road until next year.