Cost soars for Oakton corridor work

Evanston Council members will be asked Monday night to approve a contract for an array of traffic improvements along Oakton Street even though the only bid for the project came in 16% higher than estimated.

Landmark Contractors, Inc., of Huntley, Illinois, bid nearly $4.16 million for the work.

In a memo, Rajeev Dahal, the city’s senior project manager. says the cost increase is only about half of the increase over 12 months ending last fall in the federal National Highway Construction Cost Index.

The rise in the index, Dahal says, is driven by increased costs for asphalt and concrete.

Landmark plans to meet the city’s MWEBE requirements by subcontracting electrical work, almost a third of the project cost, to Edmund & Nelson Co., an Elgin-based disadvantaged business enterprise.

The work will include building a new sidewalk on the north side of Oakton from Dodge to Hartrey avenues and creating a shared-use bicycle and pedestrian path on the south side of Oakton from Dodge west to the city limits.

The project will also make improvements to crosswalks, traffic signals and street lighting as far east as Barton Avenue.

The project is scheduled to be funded with general obligation bonds, a transfer from the general fund and a $500,000 Invest in Cook grant from the county.

Dahal says the specifications for the project were developed over a two-year period with two public open houses, a ward meeting and two online surveys.