Mt. Morris’ Sunset Lane reconstruction project on hold for 2024

MT. MORRIS – Reconstruction of one of Mt. Morris’ streets most in need of repair is on pause for a year while village officials review project financing options.

Sunset Lane, a street that runs 5.5 blocks along the north edge of Mt. Morris, is “the worst street in town, really, to tell you the truth,” said Ed Higley, the Mt. Morris village trustee in charge of streets.

Other streets need minor repairs, but Sunset Lane has been put on the back burner for far too long, Higley said.

“It should have been done 10 years ago, and nobody did it,” he said.

The Sunset Lane Project involves the reconstruction of the entire street, starting on its eastern end and moving west. Work on the project began in fall 2022, and two blocks – from North Wesley Avenue to North Mulberry Avenue – are complete.

Between North Wesley and North Seminary avenues was easy because it involved tearing out the street and putting down new pavement, said Higley, who was elected in 2021. From North Seminary Avenue to Zickuhr Park, however, there’s water and sewer infrastructure that also has to be redone, he said.

The Sunset Lane Project will cost between $1.2 million and $1.5 million altogether if things go as planned, Higley said.

“You never know what you’re going to run into when you start digging things up,” he said. “You don’t know what’s underneath that street.”

Reconstructing the first block cost about $190,000, Higley said. But North Seminary Avenue to North Mulberry Avenue included water and sewer work and ended up costing about $320,000, he said.

The village funded those two blocks with motor fuel tax dollars and a budgeted line item for street repairs, Higley said.

“We were told that there were no grants that were available at that time, so we just proceeded to get things done,” he said. “Now, we found out that there are grants available.”

Mt. Morris trustees contracted with Fehr Graham for engineering services for the final three blocks of the project, and the company currently is working on finding and applying for state and federal grants for which the village is eligible, Higley said.

“The money’s not so much for the street but for the water and sewer,” he said. “And, of course, the lead lines. That’s the big thing all over, as lead lines are everywhere.”

The cost increase that comes with redoing underground infrastructure is the main reason the Sunset Lane Project is on pause for 2024, Higley said.

Mt. Morris’ water and sewer funds are running at a deficit, and the department doesn’t have the money to pay for its portion of the project, he said. The deficit came about because water rates hadn’t been raised since 2013, Higley said.

However, on June 25, Mt. Morris Village Board members unanimously approved of raising the monthly base rate for water service from $12.26 to $22, effective July 1.

Financing really is the only challenge the Sunset Lane Project has faced, Higley said.

Work on the first block went extremely well, and the few bumps they ran into with the second block were expected, he said.

“The problem is, [Sunset Lane] is not the only project we have to do,” Higley said. “It’d be great if it was, but we have sidewalks to do, we have streets to do, we have other things to do.”