Politics & Government

Committee Proposes Driving Street Repairs With Ditch Priority List

The top two most dilapidated ditches would be repaired each year, pending funding.

Ditches soon may become the motivating force for Darien street repairs — at least some of them.

The agreed Monday to recommend that the under development be used to create a list that prioritizes drainage ditches for repairs.

Streets associated with the top two highest priority ditches would be resurfaced the following year, according to the proposal.

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Since 2006, the city has based ditch repairs on which streets were up for resurfacing: The ditches still were revamped the year prior to an associated street’s repaving, but only because a particular street was scheduled for renovation.

There are about 29 miles of ditches in Darien, 4.12 miles of which have been repaired since the program began.

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Whether the ditch repairs actually take place during a given year will depend on funding, Director Dan Gombac said. 

“What we are doing is acknowledging the seriousness of these ditch projects,” Alderman Joe Marchese said. “We’re acknowledging a weighted system based on the severity of the ditch issue and not letting the road program drive” the repairs.

Marchese cited stormwater flooding along streets such as Gail Avenue that is caused by deteriorated drainage ditches.

Gombac cautioned that prioritizing street repairs based on the ditches might force some streets to be resurfaced before they need it. 

“I’m not suggesting we change road program,” Marchese said. “But if the money’s there, we shouldn’t ignore say the top two ditches. We’ve got to be flexible.”

The committee has spent the summer developing a weighted scale comprising 11 criteria. A ditch with the worst ratings in each category could receive as many as 89 points.

Criteria include the state of the culverts, the slope of the ditch and the degree to which the ditch causes flooding.

At the June 20 City Council meeting, Alderman Ted Schauer presented pictures that contrasted with the clearer Linden Avenue, which he said has a more efficient stormwater drainage system. 

Some stretches of ditches, including those along Gail Avenue, are in such disrepair that any significant rainfall becomes stressful for neighboring homeowners.

"It's frustrating," Gail Avenue resident Rick Klepacz told Patch in July. "When the weather gets bad, it's stressful. The water in our ditch went from flowing pretty well during heavy rain to pretty much a lake. The amount of water just creeps closer and closer to the house." 

At the last meeting, the committee discussed the old, three-tiered rating system (top priority, high priority or low priority) as well as the initial framework for new criteria. 

The criteria discussion will continue during the next meeting in September, with the goal of finalizing a system by the October City Council goal-setting session.


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