That's almost a million dollars for a very small stretch of street. I like preserving the historical look and I know stormwater runoff is a concern, but of all the things we CAN'T have and CAN'T afford, THIS is a MUST? Am I missing something?

How well do pavers hold up to snow plowing. With the freeze-thaw cycle, is there any chance the pavers will shift and then become damage by a snow plow that's traveling at 20 mph or 30 mph?

Just wondering... what are they going to do with the original historic bricks that are probably under the existing asphalt pavement? It would be a big environmental win if they could be re-used in some construction project in the Village.

A million bucks for a thousand feet of street? When did smoking crack become mandatory?

It's too bad Powell street doesen't have historic pavers, if it did maybe we could get our potholes reapired.

Regarding the lowest bidder:
Swallow Construction's bid came in at $960,596.75.
V3 Construction's was $970,000.00.
According to village officials, Swallow's bid information was not complete; V3 was the lowest bidder with a "complete submittal."

Regarding the question of salvaging the bricks underneath: "the bricks have been overlayed with asphalt and are not salvageable," according to the village council report.

Good evening all … sorry in advance for the length of the post(s).

The Grove Street project deserves more detail than has been reported thus far. It’s scope and design elements are in response to Community Input and direction to not only build and maintain exceptional municipal services but be good stewards of our the environment and our natural resources as well. While they often do not change, we discuss and affirm (or adjust) these goals regularly.

Specific to Grove Street, the cost includes traffic calming, water main replacement, storm water quality improvement, storm water runoff volume reduction and lower overall lifecycle costs. The breakdown is approximately as follows:

$991,445 Budgeted Amount

$969,998 Actual Total Bid Amount

$581,523 Paving
$130,722 Stormwater
$257,753 Water Main

The traffic calming (roadway/curb design) is included in the paving since we’re doing total reconstruction as opposed to resurfacing.

continued …

… continued

We have many (Grove is but one) Streets in the VoDG that have been neglected for the better part of 2 decades and indeed are far beyond resurfacing. For reference, the cost of asphalt roadway reconstruction at Knottingham was approximately $105/Square Yard, and Valley View was approximately $111/Square Yard. The cost of the Grove Street reconstruction is approximately $155/Square Yard. However, the Knottingham and Valley View projects are much larger in scope and likely received some cost savings due to economy of scale.

Assuming a 50 year life expectancy for the pavers, the total 50 year cost for the life of the pavers would be approximately $194/Square Yard. The total 50 year cost for an asphalt pavement section would be approximately $368/Square Yard. These costs assume a 3% escalation per year in construction pricing.

continued …

… continued

With respect to the bids and the process, in addition to cost, we try to evaluate who we believe is most able/likely to successfully complete the project to the satisfaction of our residents and staff. It was our conclusion from the information submitted by bidders, previous work experience within the Village, contractor report cards and reference checks, that V3 had the most complete, successful past experience with projects of similar scope and detail – in addition to being below the budgeted amount.

We’re proud of this project as we believe we’re actually spending less over the lifecycle of the paving and accomplishing more than we would standard paving. I remain hopeful that as we evolve the standards by which we do road construction – from process scope to design details – from cost to environmental concerns – we’ll continue to provide higher value for lower cost with more complete solutions, no crack involved ;-)

Bob Barnett

More here: http://www.downers.us/public/docs/agendas/2012/07-10-12/BID00-04953_GROVESTREET.pdf

I appreciate that a Village Board member would provide a detailed, informative answer. I guess when you compare it with the Illinois norm - covering with asphalt of cheap/questionable quality, watching cracks form within two years, and rewarding someone with a new contract when the road is all crumbled within five yrs - it seems worth a try.

I wish our Elm Street project was this well thought out.

I agree with the math showing the end cycle savings. I think the formula is incomplete though. The Village claims to be supportive of D.G. businesses but fails to be flexible in allowing a local business to resubmit. Is there an economic cost to DG in job losses, or equally bad, loss of job opportunity to DG residents, etc. You get the picture. How about the fact a local business rarely is successful in breaking through the glass wall of preference for non-local companies

Oops - serves me right working from my phone - hit submit by accident :)

My point is that it makes sense from a cost, environmental and stormwater management solution objective. But what is the cost from a benefit to the local economy because of not giving a Downers Grove business (one that probably is owned and/or staffed by DG residents)? Did the Council save a good deal of money with the right hand only to toss it away with the left? Just asking.

It isn't a good reflection though on any company when the Leaders blame an error on anyone but themselves. Just bad decorum that may not be the rules of engagement any longer. Which means I have now disclosed my age ;)