Countryside City Engineer John Fitzgerald expressed satisfaction as a new public works project came in well under budget.
The city council on Nov. 13 unanimously approved a $998,938 contract with Brookfield-based Unique Plumbing for replacing two water mains. The cost is about 17%—or $214,472—below Fitzgerald’s original estimate.
“It’s good to see pricing coming back to under pre-COVID. It’s good to see some good, competitive numbers,” Fitzgerald told the council. “We had 15 contractors pick up (the request for proposal packet). Only four submitted bids—I don’t understand that—but 15 did pick up.”
The project includes installing a new water main along the west side of La Grange Road between 55th and 53rd streets. It also involves relocating a water main at Soehrman Park. That line, buried under 20 feet of dirt during past renovations, will be moved to the required frost-line depth of 5.5 feet, Fitzgerald said.
“If it ever leaks, it would be a very hard dig,” he said.
In related actions, the council approved a payment of $84,490 to Lindahl Brothers Inc., based in Bensenville, for the 2024 CDBG Street Rehab Program.