The replacement of an aging water main along Ogden Avenue and Washington Street is expected to cause traffic disruptions over coming months, the project’s manager says.
“We definitely would appreciate some patience from everyone who needs to drive through the neighborhood,” said Jacob Parrish, a senior civil-environmental engineer for the city. “I understand it’s going to be disruptive, but we just ask … for a little bit of patience and understanding as we go about (the work). We’re all going to get through this together.”
Work began last week and is expected to continue until about October, he said. It will be completed in stages.
The existing water main along Ogden and Washington dates back to the 1930s, according to Parrish. It’s also undersized for what the city needs it to do, he said.
Typically, water mains have a 100-year lifespan, Parrish said. Replacing them as they near the end of their useful life is important because it helps the city avoid leaks from aging infrastructure, he said.
“The city has to pay for all of the water that it purchases … so anytime that there’s a leak, the city is paying for that water,” Parrish said. “So by doing this replacement, we’re going to be saving money in the long run.”
The first stage of the Ogden/Washington project will focus the stretch of main at the intersection of the two roads, Parrish said. City staff are anticipating phase one work to continue through the end of June.
After that, the work will center on Ogden from Washington to Wright Street. For this stretch of work, expected to finish in August, the city will be closing the southern eastbound lane of Ogden and shifting traffic to accommodate the closure, Parrish said.
The final leg of the work will focus on Washington from Ogden to Bauer Road. The southbound lanes of Washington will need to be closed and detoured until the work is completed, he said.
“This is a pretty complex project,” he said. “We took a lot of time (for) planning going into this.”
The undertaking is part of a larger initiative by the city to systematically update a slew of aging water mains.
Naperville to spend $155M on roads, water mains and other infrastructure work in 2024
This year alone, apart from work at Ogden/Washington, water main replacements will be done at Fairway Drive and Country Lakes Drive as well as along Anne Road, Elizabeth Avenue and White Oak Drive in the Royal Oaks neighborhood.
The city also plans to replace approximately 8,200 feet of aging water main in the Saybrook division between Washington and Wright Streets and from Bauer Road and 11th Avenue, according to its website.
Nearly $19 million has been budgeted for the four main water main projects this year, according to city Finance Director Raymond Munch. However, construction bids for the projects were “very favorable,” Munch said in an email Monday, so the actual project costs are now estimated at $11.5 million.
A summary of the city’s 2025 water main replacement projects, including a map of areas affected by construction, can be found at www.naperville.il.us/2025-watermain-replacements.
