Huntley approves nearly $1 million for road work surrounding Catty property development

Work will soon be coming to South Church and Mill streets in Huntley after the Village Board approved nearly $1 million for improvements last week.

The improvements could start as soon as late March or early April, Huntley Public Works and Engineering Director Tim Farrell said on Monday. The goal is to have the work completed by mid-summer.

“As soon as the weather breaks, we want to complete that,” Farrell said.

The item was approved unanimously at the Village Board meeting Thursday with no discussion.

The improvements are tied to the Catty property development, with the roads running alongside the building.

Approved last year, the former manufacturing site is being converted into an apartment complex with nearly 40 units. Exterior work on the development is nearly done, with the interior now under construction, Farrell said. The plan is to have the building completed about the same time as the roadwork is wrapping up.

“We just wanted to make sure the roads on either side of the [Catty] property and the utilities are updated so we can walk away with a clean slate for the development,” Farrell said.

Work will include replacing existing water mains and storm sewers that are aging and undersized; reconstructing the curb, gutter, sidewalk and driveway apron; removing existing pavement and installing asphalt, decorative street lighting, and new trees, according to village documents.

The work is slated to take place on South Church Street between Main and Mill streets and on Mill Street between the Union Pacific railroad and Church Street, according to village documents.

At this point, it’s not known what kind of traffic disruption the work could have, Farrell said. The plan is to work with residents with some temporary closures expected. The goal is to keep it open and accessible as much as possible.

Six bids for the road improvements were received in mid-January, with the lowest one coming in at just over $955,000 from Schroeder Asphalt Services Inc. out of Marengo, according to village documents. Schroeder was ultimately awarded the contract. Other bids ranged from just over $1 million to more than $1.2 million.

The final bid came in less than 20% of the village engineer’s estimate of just under $1.2 million, according to village documents.

The village budgeted $935,000 for the improvements, meaning a budget amendment to make up the difference could be voted at a later date if needed, according to village documents.

The village also approved an alternate bid to the tune of nearly $1.4 million total, according to village documents. This means that if funds allow, based on other projects, the village could spend another $400,000 on improvements for another section of Mill Street, running east to South Myrtle Street.

“We just wanted to see what the numbers would come in at for additional work,” Farrell said. “Now that we know that number, we may be able to do that work if we find other projects that don’t come in at the budget amount.”

Huntley has used Schroeder in the past as well, including to develop the parking lot for the Catty property downtown, which Farrell said is about two-thirds of the way completed. Work began last year, but was halted due to weather.

The work on Mill and South Church streets is separate from the village’s annual road program, which Farrell said is expected to be considered by the Village Board in the coming weeks. This year, the program is expected to be focused in the village’s Sun City area in the southwest portion of town.