Channahon moves forward with $694,000 I&M Gateway project

Village of Channahon trustees approved a $694,245 bid to Abbey Paving out of Aurora for the I&M Canal Gateway project, a project that would see parking and a facility for biking.

Assistant Village Administrator Michael Petrick said there is still some concern that IDOT will come back with more problems, but Shawn Benson, from Wight and Company, said he isn’t very concerned.

“We did get comments back from the second round on Sept. 27,” Petrick said. “The only comments on those was the placement of the detectable warning, the red bumpy things on the crosswalk that let visually impaired folk know they’re crossing a crosswalk. It was because the crosswalks are at an angle into the pit driveway. One side was further away than they wanted it to be from the car. We don’t have a big, extensive list of things that need to be changed, but we also don’t have a permit, though I don’t think that will jeopardize a change to the site.”

Benson said it took about 10 weeks to get comments back from IDOT.

“I’ve reached out a number of times to see if we can move forward, but that’s where we’re at,” Benson said. “I don’t have any big concerns.”

Village President Missey Moorman-Schumacher asked if there was potential the bidder would try to renegotiate if the project gets delayed because of the weather, but there wasn’t a firm answer.

The board decided to approve the bid, so construction can begin in the fall and finish in the spring.