Winnetka Avenue Pump Station Project Cost Goes Up

Improvements to the Winnetka Avenue pump station, which is a part of the village’s $41 million stormwater program, were initially estimated to cost $750,000 but the project is now expected to cost around $1 million due to Cook County Forest Preserve’s request for plan modifications and refinements to the plan, various media outlets reported.

Steve Saunders, Winnetka’s public works director, says it’s not unusual for project cost estimates to fluctuate as the the engineering becomes more refined and cites that project costs in northwest Winnetka recently dropped by $300,000, Chicago Tribune reports.

The village says improvements to the pump station would increase its capacity from under 40,000 gallons per minute to 60,000 gallons per minute and “provide some benefit to areas of southwest Winnetka that are plagued by some of the more persistent flooding,” Saunders was quoted saying in Winnetka Talk.

Built in 1995, the existing pump station provides stormwater drainage for more than 1,700 parcels and more than 900 acres in western Winnetka, Winnetka Talk reported.