Publications & Sites 
Harlem Ave. grinding starts May 15 in Berwyn
Berwyn public works and IDOT personnel conduct a video inspection of a damaged sewerline at Harlem Ave. and 22nd St. May 4. The sub-rsaodbed damage may delay resurfacing south of the Eisenhower expressway.
Updated: June 11, 2012 9:08AM
Grinding of the Harlem Avenue road surface will start next week between 26th Street and Cermak Road, an Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) official said May 8.
A contractor will grind off the top three inches of asphalt roadbed between 26th and Cermak, and lay down a “test” asphalt leveler binder. That binder acts to adhere the concrete subsurface of the roadbed to the top asphalt layer, as well as leveling the space between the two layers.
IDOT will be laying down new asphalt on all four lanes of Harlem from 26th Street in North Riverside, through Oak Park and River Forest, to Collum Street near Norridge.
The six-mile Harlem Avenue resurfacing project started in April and is scheduled to be completed by Aug. 31. Heavy traffic and delays are predicted with the lane closures.
Last week, the scheduling for that project was put in question after a leaking sewer line was discovered under Harlem Avenue at 22nd Street (Cermak). Berwyn officials discovered a “washout” beneath the surface of southwest corner of the Harlem/22nd Street intersection.
“There’s a break in the sewer line somewhere,” said IDOT supervising engineer Orrin James. “That’s causing the (roadbed) sub-base to wash out.”
As of Tuesday, James said, local officials had not been able to locate the source of the leak or determine how much of the sub-road bed soil has been washed away. Sewer crews were back on site Tuesday.
James said any repair work on the damaged sewer and sub-road bed would likely require digging down about 12-feet and could require a 24-by-24 foot excavation.
Meanwhile, IDOT is wrapping up preliminary work on the entire six-mile long stretch of roadbed to be resurfaced. Workers have lowered nearly 300 sewer opening sited on the roadway long Harlem. Those sewers are approximately three inches higher than the road bed after it is ground down. Leaving them exposed would cause “serious tire damage to cars,” said James.
Lowering the openings requires removing either the brick underlayment or iron rings under the sewer opening to be removed.
