Drainage work imminent at Schererville Heights
By RIch Bird Post-Tribune correspondent June 20, 2012 11:54AM
Updated: June 21, 2012 7:24PM
Nearly two months after breaking ground on a $1.3 million project to alleviate flooding in unincorporated Schererville, county drainage officials say construction could start next week.
The county, working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the town of Schererville, will perform ditch and diversion construction along Rohrman Road, affecting the Schererville Heights and Heather Hills subdivisions that lie southeast of the intersection of U.S. 30 and Cline Avenue.
On Wednesday, the Lake County Drainage Board approved a request from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to pay for any additional hourly cost incurred by Frank Stewart, the project engineer with DLZ Construction, for on-site reviews of the plans submitted to the Army Corps.
The county’s drainage advisory board approved payment up to $5,000 to come from the county’s MS4 budget, which deals with water quality. The Board of Commissioners then approved the money at its drainage board meeting on Wednesday.
“Now we’re told that this is the last expense,” Lake County Surveyor George Van Til said.
Preliminary work, including the relocation of existing water lines in the area, has been completed at an additional cost of $59,000, paving the way for the main drainage work to begin, officials said.
The commissioners previously OK’d an agreement with the Army Corps for design and construction assistance. The Army Corps awarded a contract in the amount of $1,022,499.76 to Merrillville-based Gough Inc. to perform the work. Lake County will put up about 25 percent of the total, or $283,750.
