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Politics & Government

Northbrook to Dig into Solutions to Main Breaks on Waukegan Road

Three breaks since April prompt debate on when to replace 90-plus year-old pipes.

Three water main breaks near each other in the last several weeks are prompting Northbrook officials to assess what they should do about the aging line along Waukegan Road.

Trustees may begin to debate next week on whether replacement of the 90-year-old main should be moved up on the list of capital projects.

Public works officials will apprise the board on the status of the situation and provide information on other short-term and long-term solutions on the matter, said Phil Kiraly, Northbrook's assistant village manager.

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Next week's meeting will start at 7:30 p.m. June 12 at Village Hall. The session also will be streamed live.

The water main is a 8” cast iron pipe that was installed in 1922. Since installation there have been a total of 18 breaks on this main, said Kelly Hamill, Northbrook's director of public works.

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Three of those breaks have taken place in the area of Waukegan between Shermer Road and Walters Avenue since mid-April, snarling traffic and giving the neighborhood headaches. They include:

  • when a major break prompted the closure of all four lanes of Waukegan between Shermer and Walters.
  • when a main broke at the northeast corner of Waukegan and Linden Road.
  • The third happened on when the main broke at another spot at Waukegan and Linden.

Repairs reduced traffic to one lane northbound on Waukegan May 24 and June 4. In April's break, it took most of the following day to get all four lanes up and running. Restoration work in one spot might have jarred the main down the line and could have led to the other cracks, Kiraly speculated.

The very earliest that work could begin on that main is May 2013, Kiraly said. But that might not be that easy. Northbrook will have to get permission from the Illinois Department of Transportation to work on Waukegan as it is a state route and work of that magnitude would require the roadway to be closed for a period of time.

The village also will have to get permits from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency as the agency oversees the public water supply.

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