Justice received $2.97 million from Cook County’s Climate Resiliency Planning for Communities Program and has used it to replace culverts and drainage along a stretch of 84th Court, clear a long-overgrown stormwater pond and map the village’s storm sewer system.
The 84th Court work directly benefited 30 homes, according to the village.
The county put $14.9 million into the program, which uses American Rescue Plan Act money. Justice was one of five communities chosen, along with Bellwood, Franklin Park, Lynwood and Markham. The money was meant to strengthen local infrastructure, reduce flooding risks and improve resilience to extreme weather.
Any community in the county could apply, said Matthew J. Zarebczan, the village’s director of economic development. He said about 26 communities applied in the first round, then added it may have been 28.
The program ran in two phases, Zarebczan said. First, the village spent a few years building a climate resiliency plan covering issues such as flooding and tree canopy. In the second phase, the county handled engineering, put the plans together and hired contractors, working through a consultant. The village was involved throughout, he said.
A village planning committee picked the projects. It included Mayor Kris Wasowicz, several trustees, Public Works Director Joe Cekus, Building Commissioner Ed Shilka, Village Engineer Lance Beigh, the code enforcement officer and Zarebczan. The committee chose areas that take on a lot of water and are prone to flooding, then fit as many projects as the budget allowed, Zarebczan said.
84th Court
Crews restored the culvert and swale system along a 0.4-mile section of 84th Court, replacing 36 culvert segments and installing nearly 3,500 feet of underdrain. The work is meant to improve drainage, cut residential flooding, keep homes reachable during storms and give residents a system that is easier to maintain.
The detention pond
Cekus was eager to show off the second project: the village’s stormwater detention facility east of the Public Works building. The village developed a new design and began rehabilitating the pond, fixing problems now while drawing up engineering plans to seek grants for permanent construction.
“Before this started, it was so grown over that you couldn’t even see the entire area,” Cekus said, pointing to the pond.
Crews removed built-up brush and debris so the pond can take on water during heavy rains. Its design capacity is nearly 780,000 gallons.
“It holds a lot of water,” Cekus said.
Mapping the pipes
The village completed a field survey and digital GIS mapping of its storm sewer system, replacing a 2009 atlas with a digital inventory of every storm sewer structure. The village can use it to track the system’s condition and schedule repairs before problems start, and the data goes straight to the phones of the workers who need it.
Plans waiting on money
At the Eugene Danhoff and 86th Court sites, the village completed site investigations, hydraulic calculations and final designs for storage ponds in a flood-prone park and industrial area. The ponds would hold heavy rain out of streets and off private property, catching water along natural drainage paths identified in local flood prevention plans. Construction is not funded. The finished plans let the village apply for grants to build them.
“We have the plans just to find the money to go ahead and move forward on those as well,” Zarebczan said.
A village-wide drainage study used the new atlas data to build a model of how the system handles everything from routine rain to major floods. It is meant to find clogged or overloaded pipes, especially around West 81st Street and the Highlands Subdivision, and to let the village test engineering fixes before spending money on road and sewer construction.
Zarebczan said that kind of preparation is how Justice competes for money.
“We try to preplan projects so that this way, when things like this do come around, we have a good opportunity to get the money because we’re ready to go,” he said.
Zarebczan and Cekus said that the village is constantly looking for grants to carry the remaining projects forward.