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BUCKTOWN — After months of traffic being restricted to a single lane along Armitage Avenue in Bucktown, the street has fully reopened from Western Avenue to the Kennedy Expressway.
The Department of Water Management started replacing an old water main under Armitage earlier this year, limiting traffic to eastbound drivers.
“All the concrete work, flat work, and what not are all done, we finished that on Thursday into Friday, we removed everything on Friday, swept everything,” said Anthony Falada, general superintendent of water at the Department of Water Management.
The new water main was needed after a series of breaks and ongoing wear and tear in recent years, Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) said in September.
“There’s been a lot of construction there over the several few years, and we saw more and more water main breaks. The original pipe was around 100 years old,” he said. “Between the increased traffic and the new construction over there…every time you put in so many connections you really get to the point where it’s degraded so much you have to do a new one.”
So far, Armitage from Damen Avenue to the Kennedy has been repaved. The section between Damen and Western will be resurfaced in the spring, when the asphalt plants reopen, Falada said.
But more closures are coming along Armitage in Bucktown and Logan Square.
The Department of Water Management will close westbound traffic on the street from Western Avenue to Kedzie Avenue in early January as they replace another stretch of water main.
Falada said he’s expecting the entire project, include all repaving, to be finished by May 2022, depending on weather and other factors.
“I’m hoping to have this done by the beginning of May. When the [asphalt] plants open, we can do restoration, so right now that’s what I’m shooting for… We’ll just see how it goes, what we find in the ground — it’s a little bit different over there with some of the other utilities, but the goal is first week of May,” he said.
Parking will be limited along the impacted stretch of Armitage during the next wave of construction, typically from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to Waguespack’s office.
“The work area will be posted for “No Parking” as needed during work hours,” according to a 32nd ward newsletter sent last week. “Parking is allowed outside of those hours, but cars will need to be moved by the start of the next workday. They will try to preserve as much parking as possible.”
Credit: Quinn Myers/Block Club ChicagoAlready subscribe? Click here to support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation.
