An Aurora City Council committee this week recommended an addendum to the contract with HR Green, Inc. of Aurora for engineering of the work to be done at Farnsworth Avenue, Bilter Road and Church Road in the city.
Aldermen on the Infrastructure and Technology Committee recommended a $256,291 addendum to the HR Green contract which is already about $1.9 million for work in the area, much of it connected to the new Hollywood Casino-Aurora resort.
The City Council recently approved a $19.5 million contract with low-bidder R.W. Dunteman Co., of Addison, for the roadwork, as well as the original $1.9 million construction engineering contract with HR Green.
The city has already worked with HR Green overseeing traffic studies done for the area.
Much of the work is tied to the Hollywood Casino-Aurora resort project underway, although the city has been planning for all the roadwork needed in that area through 2050, not just the casino.
In addition to the casino resort project underway, the city owns land further east on Bilter Road that will be developed, some into mixed uses, some into housing.
Brian Witkowski, of the city’s Engineering Division, said this week the engineering part of the road projects was expanded during the past year and “required a lot of coordination.”
“HR Green has done an exemplary job,” he said.
The $19.5 million for the roadwork itself was higher than the estimated $16 million the city had expected for the work, which means officials are looking at truncating some of the work – changing some things and delaying others – to afford it.
Witkowski said while parts of the project are being delayed, the city is moving ahead with things like right-of-way acquisition and utility relocation, which HR Green is involved with.
“This is so when we look for federal funding in the future, we’re ready to go,” he said.
The city does have some money already lined up for the roadwork. The casino itself has put forward $2 million for the roads as part of its redevelopment agreement with the city.
The city also has $2.5 million in federal funds committed to the projects and will be seeking more, officials have said. The tax increment financing district for the casino site could pay for some of it, too.
Also, the city will get an estimated $2 million to $2.5 million in interest off the proceeds from the $58 million bond issue the city passed as part of the casino redevelopment agreement.
The proceeds come from the fact the city has passed the bond issue already, but has not yet paid the casino the $50 million toward the overall $360 million project.
Payment will be done based on a series of benchmarks the casino must meet first. In the meantime, the city is earning interest off the proceeds.
Officials have said the city is hoping to have much of the roadwork done by Thanksgiving time 2025.
slord@tribpub.com
