The Aurora City Council is set to vote Tuesday to appropriate engineering money for safety upgrade work on New York Street by Fox Valley Mall and Pacifica Square on the city’s far East Side.
The vote would add a $56,075 supplement to an engineering contract the city already has with WBK Engineering, LLC. It also would appropriate $60,000 of motor fuel tax funds for it.
The project would eventually be for safety improvements along New York Street between Commons Drive and Fox Valley Mall Entrance 6.
The improvements include replacement of all aging signal equipment, adding dual left-turn lanes at intersections along New York Street, widening of the curb to meet design vehicle requirements and extending bike and pedestrian facilities in accordance with Americans with Disabilities Act standards.
The intersections will be converted to allow drivers to make a left turn only on a left-turn arrow. Additional general information and exhibits about the plan can be found on the project page at the city of Aurora website.
The city applied for federal funding in the June 2022 Highway Safety Improvement Project call for projects. The project was awarded federal funding to cover up to 90% of preliminary engineering, design engineering, construction and construction engineering costs for the original project.
Since the time of that application, the project has added scope, and additional federal funding has been requested and awarded. A total of about $2.4 million in federal funds has been secured for all phases of the project, according to city officials.
The project is likely to be bid by the Illinois Department of Transportation in late 2025.
The original agreement with WBK Engineering was for $151,796, so the supplement would be in addition to that.
City officials said WBK Engineering has addressed city issues. The company helped prepare a revised federal application for more items, which included the bicycle and pedestrian elements, the ADA work, and lighting. That revised application brought an additional $773,400 in federal funds for the project, officials said.
slord@tribpub.com
