Posted on December 17, 2024
KANKAKEE — The Kankakee River dredging project has been pushed back — yet again.
Despite hopes of getting the long-awaited dredging at the Aroma Park boat launch done this calendar year, the project has been pushed back to a spring start officials learned this week.
Ben Wilson, the county’s transportation and development division manager, informed the Kankakee County Board’s Highways and Waterways Committee the contractor preferred waiting until spring for warmer weather.
Wilson said the county talked with the contractor, JS McCullough Excavating, of Coatesville, Ind., on Monday about the project.
“When we got feedback from McCullough, their main concern about working in frozen weather, is safety on the barge,” Wilson said. “Because they’re in the water, slip and falls are a big danger for them. And so they said, ‘We’d really like to be looking at the back side of the winter, not right now.’”
Although the county wanted to get the work done this year, Wilson understands the safety component.
“We don’t want anybody getting hurt on the river, and because we’re not the people to jump on the river and do the work, their guidance has been helpful in this,” he said.
Wilson added the county will meet with McCullough on Monday at the boat launch which is in Potawatomi Park in Aroma Park.
McCullough has some suggestions on the dredging work, and the county will be finalizing the paperwork for the notice of award on the project.
“We respect that we’re willing to give them the time they need so they can get it done safely, but also while still pushing them a little bit to ensure that it gets done timely,” he said.
The entire project is being funded by $1 million secured from the state by State Sen. Patrick Joyce, D-Essex.
It’s estimated 9,500 cubic yards of sand/sediment will be removed from the river at the Aroma Park boat ramp. McCullough Excavating’s bid was $712,650.
ABOUT THE DREDGING
Wilson reiterated the main reason the sand will be removed in front of the boat launch is so first responders can get into the water quickly.
“Priority number one is getting emergency access to the river for public safety,” he said. “A nice benefit of that is boaters and enthusiasts can use the river in the same access point.”
The dredging project, designed by Christopher Burke Engineering of Indianapolis, Ind., will build kind of a channelized approach in between the existing island and the current boat launch.
“We’ll build a narrower, somewhat deeper channel to keep the velocities up in that area, so that way, hopefully the sediment and silt will sweep through the area,” Wilson said. “So we’re not just removing all of the sand and sediment, which would not only be very expensive, but not necessarily that effective from an engineering and hydrology standpoint.”
The county is also in the process of purchasing equipment, through another state grant, that will help address sand buildup in the future.
This project includes the trucking of the sand/sediment that is removed to the Illinois State Rifle Association Range in Bonfield, which has agreed to accept the sand. It will be used in the range’s berm.
