Infrastructure Revamp Planned On Oakton Street, Austin Avenue

The federally funded project at the Morton Grove-Skokie border includes fresh pavement, curbs, utility upgrades and a new traffic signal.

May 22, 2024 10:42 am CDT

MORTON GROVE, IL — Residents and businesses in Morton Grove and Skokie can expect work on major infrastructure changes along along Austin Avenue and Oakton Street to begin next month.

The upcoming upgrades to utility and transportation infrastructure are driven by a partnership between local villages, the Illinois Department of transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.

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Nearby residents and businesses have already been provided written notice of upcoming construction activities and offered the chance to contact project managers, according to Morton Grove Village Administrator Ralph Czerwinski.

Czerwinski announced meetings with business leaders along the affected corridors had been scheduled for the middle of this month.

Expected to be complete in June 2025, the project is expected to slow motorists driving through the intersection of Austin Avenue and Oakton Street at the northwest corner of the Niles West High School campus.

The planned infrastructure work will also create issues entering and exiting properties and parking spots from Austin to Oakton. Village staff encouraged drivers to plan for delays and pay attention to construction signs in the area.

The scope of the work is as follows:

Austin Avenue will undergo resurfacing and partial reconstruction from just of Oakton Street to Main Street. The curbs and gutters will also be replaced, and the pavement on the parking lane will be reconstructed.

A new storm sewer system will also be put in place underneath Austin Avenue, extending from Oakton Street to Cleveland Street. This will include an area just south of the intersection of Austin Avenue and Oakton Street.

Oakton Street, will get a new sanitary sewer from east of the Milwaukee District North railroad tracks to Austin Avenue. Following the installation of the sewer, the pavement along Oakton Street will be resurfaced.

The traffic signal at the intersection of Austin Avenue and Oakton Street is also set be replaced as part of the upgrades.

The project’s general contractor is Bensonville-based Acura and the construction engineer is the Chicago-based Ciorba Group, which is also providing construction management for the project. According to the village administrator, the Federal Highway Administration is providing 70 percent of the funding on the project.

The new sidewalk will conform with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the Cioba Group.

“Capacity and safety were improved at the Austin Avenue/Oakton Street intersection,” according to the group’s description of the project, “by expanding the corner radii.”