The Northfield Township Road District, together with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD,) and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), is holding a community input meeting to outline the Central Road Flood Mitigation Project.
According to a news release the meeting will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 7a;30 p.m. on April 22 at the Apollo Elementary School auditorium, 10100 Dee Road in Des Plaines. The meeting is open to the community.
The project was initiated several years ago and has begun its implementation phase, the release said.
“The area has historically experienced severe flooding issues during heavy rainfalls. We’re thrilled that due to the perseverance of our agencies, the mitigation project finally has a start date,” Tim Rueckert, Northfield Township Road District Highway Commissioner, said in the release.
The project, beginning in September, will benefit several thousand residents who live along Central Road in Glenview, according to the release.
The multi-million dollar plan funded by MWRD and IDOT is designed to drastically increase the size of the storm sewer system from Glenwood Lane in Glenview along Central Road to the Des Plaines River by Oakton Community College, the release said. Completion will take several years.
“This is an extremely aggressive build, laying almost 3 miles of pipe that will flow underground in combination with a 20-acre detention pond,” Rueckert said.
Once the project is completed, the detention pond will be given to the Northfield Township Road District, the release said. The Road District plans to create a garden for pollinators such as monarch butterflies.
The garden will include native deep-rooted plants like milkweed, native prairie grasses, and wildflowers that allow rainwater to absorb into the ground, reducing flooding and runoff into the rivers and streams, according to the release.
For more information, contact the Northfield Township Road District at 847-724-7055 or visit the website: Northfield Township Road District.
