Creek work to control Crestwood flooding

Sept. 29--A multimillion-dollar flood control project that will get under way later this fall in Crestwood is expected to save nearly 200 homeowners thousands of dollars in flood insurance costs.

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District expects to spend $7.2 million on a project to clean and widen a section of Tinley Creek east of Central Avenue that runs through the village and empties into the Calumet Sag Channel.

Earlier this month the district awarded a contract for the work to Industria Inc., and along with removing debris that slows the flow of water, the work will include stabilizing the banks of the creek along a 1,000-foot section and taking steps to control erosion along the banks, according to the district. The company will also replace three pedestrian bridges, including one next to Playfield Park, that cross the creek.

The bulk of the work is scheduled to be completed before the end of October 2016, and the project is estimated to provide flood protection for 173 homes, primarily in the Playfield subdivision of the village, according to Crestwood Mayor Lou Presta and Trustee Dan Jurka. MWRD says that the full project, including establishment of vegetation to stabilize the creek banks, will be finished by October 2019.

According to the MWRD, the work is designed to increase the creek's conveyance capacity to handle runoff from major storms. Presta and Jurka said that, over time, debris has accumulated in the creek, slowing its flow, and that erosion along the creek's banks has also reduced the waterway's capacity.

"There's trash, fallen trees, stumps and even the sides of the creek have washed out," Jurka said. "The water will flow a lot freer (after the MWRD work)."

The area that will benefit is roughly bounded by 127th and 130th streets on the north and south, and West Playfield Drive and Central on the east and west, Presta said.

The mayor said that 173 homeowners who currently need to buy flood insurance, at a cost of between $1,500 and $2,000 a year, won't have to once the project wraps up. He said the village has been working with MWRD for three years to convince them of the need for the project.

"It's a big project," he said.

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