Existing                                                                                  Proposed

Paving 2012 Map

Specifications and Proposal for Palatine Township Road District and Village of Inverness joint purchase of bulk treated road salt delivered, for the 2011-2012 winter season. All sealed bids will be opened at 6:45 pm. Monday, April 25, 2011 at the Palatine Township office, located at 721 S. Quentin Road, Palatine, IL. Contractor shall maintain sufficient stockpiles to supply bulk treated road salt for highway de-icing purposes for the winter season of 2011-2012 ending April 30, 2012.

• Palatine Township Road District … 2500 tons
• Village of Inverness … 1600 tons

- THIS BID IS CLOSED -

The bid documents have been opened and the contract has been awarded.  A summary of unit prices is shown here:     2011 Salt Bid Summary

The famed inventor Charles Goodyear changed the world in 1839 when he accidentally dropped a mixture of India rubber and sulfur onto a hot stove and turned a flimsy gum into the sturdy stuff which today is the modern tire. But that same wonder material that has become a staple of modern society has become one of the largest solid waste headaches.  This headache extends to our roadside ditches where some residents “fly dump” their unwanted tires, because their disposal is so difficult.  This creates breeding grounds for mosquitoes, flooding and mowing problems for the Road District, not to mention an unsightly landscape. We started a tire amnesty program several years ago; early each spring on selected Saturdays anyone living in Palatine Township can drop off their used tires at our yard. These tires are then sent to the grinder where they are ground up and used for asphalt pavement and play ground surfaces.

If you are a resident of Palatine Township come and drop off your old tires at the Palatine Township Road District Garage. The drop of times will be from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday March 24 and Saturday March 30. Our location is 530 N. Smith Street, just under the water tower. No tires over 16″ in diameter  or from commercial vendors will be accepted.

In Late March and early April, we will deliver to every home 56 yard waste stickers.   These stickers are to be used on yard waste bags that you purchase for the following items: grass clippings, leaves,  twigs, garden debris, weeds, stalks, vines, bark and wood chips.  Please do not put more than 40lbs of material in bags, fill the bags up to 6″ from the top and fold or tape shut.  If you have small brush and branches, you can tie them up with twine in bundles 4ft. or less in length and 2ft. or less in diameter.   By tying them they will be easier to lift into the truck.   Finally, place bags or bundles at edge of pavement before 7 a.m. the day of your scheduled pick up.  Again this year Plum Grove and Forest Estates Subdivision will be on Monday while Lake Park Estates, Barrington Trails, Fielding Place, Howe Terrace and Thunderbird will be on Tuesday.

As we wrote this article, we are in the early stages of submitting plans and permits for the replacement of the Briarwood Lane Bridge within the Plum Grove Estates Subdivision which crosses the Upper Reach of Salt Creek.  The original was built in the 50’s and has lasted longer than it probably was designed for.  During the process of designing a new bridge we decided to realign Briarwood Lane.  This will allow for a better crossing and increased sight distance.  Due to frugal spending in the past, we have been able to save money for this project with no increase in taxes or borrowing.

Late Summer 2011 Asphalt Paving:

It’s worth noting that we completed 2 important capital improvement projects this past year.  The first was resurfacing of roadways in the northern section of the Township.  They included, Thunderbird Estates, Joan Drive, White Tail Lane, Nantucket Court, Whispering Oaks Lane, Hidden Oaks Drive, Deer Grove Lane and Crooked Creek Drive, all within the Barrington Trails Subdivision area.  Second, we installed a storm sewer along Grove Lane to alleviate flooding from Knoxboro Lane to Hillside Road.  This area was omitted from the resurfacing project to allow for the storm sewer construction and is scheduled to be resurfaced in the summer of 2012.  In the Capital Improvements section you will find the location maps that outline the proposed improvements.  Also, be sure to stop back to get all your permitting forms and other useful information.

Yard Waste Program 2012:

This successful, annual program will resume on April 9, 2012 and will continue until November 20, 2012. Weather permitting, in late March and early April, we will deliver 56 yard waste stickers.  These stickers are to be used on yard waste bags that you purchase for the following items: grass clippings, leaves, twigs, garden debris, weeds, stalks, vines, bark and wood chips.  Please do not put more than 40 lbs of material into the bags.  If you have small brush or branches, please tie them with twine in bundles 4 ft. or less in length and 2 ft. or less in diameter.  By doing so, they will be more manageable for disposal.  Additionally, for your gardening use, we have compost (aged ground up yard waste) available for pick-up at the Road District facility, located at: 530 N. Smith Street, Palatine.  Please call 847-358-6336 for directions and hours.

The Palatine Township Road District works hard to provide residents not only with great service but more importantly in a cost effective manner.  We are in continued communication with your local municipality.  As an example, we coordinate intergovernmntal agreements with the Villages of Palatine and Inverness.  These agreements allow us to go beyond jurisdictional boundaries to provide a common sense approach to services which eliminate duplication.  Between the Township and the municipality, we developed strategic planning for routing snow plows in order to optimize snow and ice removal. This approach not only provides more efficient service but saves tax dollars. We have 5 dedicated maintenance employees with various skills and qualifications that look after 20 miles of roadway and during the winter months, 42 miles.  This employee to mile ratio is 25% of what the County uses for the same services.  If costs need to be examined, you will see that for a $300,000 assessed property the contribution to the Road District is around $86 per year.  Half of that amount is distributed to the local municipalities within the Township for their Road and Bridge projects.  As you may know our unit of government is small, local and responsive.  We can be reached via phone 847.358.6336, via the internet at www.palhwy.com, via email palhwy@aol.com and during emergencies via the Cook County Sheriff.

Summer Storms of 2011:

Upon writing this in early August our thoughts drift back 6 months earlier to the Blizzard of 2011.  Since then we have experienced the Derecho of 2011.  On Monday, July 11 we received 60 mph straight line winds which caused highest number of power outages.  Little did we know, that within the following weeks, we would receive the most rainfall ever recorded at O’Hare Airport.  You may find additional information under the PRECIPATION drop down menu on our website regarding these storm events.  Here you will also find storm information regarding rainfall totals, links to various news agencies and necessary dates for storm damage collection dates.

Website Updates:

We continue to add information to our website found at www.palhwy.com.  Under the PERMITS & FORMS header you may find information regarding procedures and documents needed for driveway replacement, right of way utility installation and for special road use.  Additionally, due to the heavy and frequent storms, we continually update the website to reflect any changes to our yard waste collection schedule and methods.  As stated under SERVICES, all bundled tree clippings collected for yard waste should be 4’ in length.  Any storm damage can be placed with branch, stem or cut side toward the street.  Please call us at 847.358.6336 for any storm damage and we will set a special collection date for your area.

New Service Truck:

Once again this year we used the extraordinary talents of our crew to assemble a utility box and rails for use on our service truck.  Our crew painted and fastened the utility box to the vehicle as well as fabricated the utility rails which mount directly in the box.  This service vehicle will allow the crew to carry useful tools and equipment with them into the field.

Culvert Replacement:

Our 2008 mini excavator allows us to remove and replace roadway culverts without closing the road. We plan to replace all of the corrugated metal culverts under the roadways that will be repaved this fall. They are over 40 years old and will be replaced with concrete or plastic culverts. The new culverts will last longer due to their ability to repel the effects of winter road salts. The culvert replacements will be done in house by our talented crew which will save 30% of the replacement costs.

Intergovernmental Agreements for Salt:

With the pains of shoveling still lingering, Palatine Township Road District is already looking forward to the next winter season.  We secured salt bids in late April for the upcoming winter and at a reduced unit price.  We were able to do this by joining forces with the Village of Inverness.  By adding our requests together, we were both able to secure bids for the 2011-2012 at a savings to the taxpayers.  Please view the BIDDING DOCUMENTS page for more information on our website.

Website Updates:

There are new additions to our website found at www.palhwy.com.  We have included all sorts of information for your purpose.  We added the BIDDING DOCUMENTS to the top bar.  Under this heading you can find our SALT BID and RESULTS for the 2011-2012 Winter Season.  The second menu bar contains many other sources of information that we broke out into several categories, such as CAPITOL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, SERVICES, PRECIPITATION and WATER QUALITY.  Under these headings please find information regarding paving projects, yard waste dates and guidelines, blizzard and rainfall totals and finally information for land and homeowner involvement regarding protection of our streams and rivers.

Winter 2010-2011:

This year started out just like the two previous years, with a cold and snowy December.   We were busy keeping the roads clear for all of your Christmas celebrations.  We were in the midst of our second year of a reduced salt diet to clear the roads of snow and ice. While using less salt, we had to do a little more plowing in order to push the snow to the edge of the roadway, which may have meant you had to do a little more shoveling.  Together, we were able to reduce the amount of salt that enters into our streams and rivers.  This technique provided you with the same level of service while reducing our salt usage.  At the moment of this article, we anticipated a 30% reduction of salt usage from the previous year.

Summer 2011 Asphalt Paving:

This year’s asphalt resurfacing program will include the following streets: most of the Thunderbird Estates Subdivision and Joan Drive, Nantucket Lane, Whispering Oaks, Hidden Oaks Drive, Deerpath Lane and Crooked Creek Lane in the Barrington Trails Subdivision area, located in the northwest corner of the Palatine Township.  For a complete list of streets and locations please visit our website, www.palhwy.com.  In the Capital Improvements section you will find the location maps that outline the proposed improvements.  Also, be sure to stop back to get all your permitting forms and other useful information.

Yard Waste Program 2011:

This successful, annual program will start on April 11th and will continue until November 22nd.  A packet with the rules, pickup schedule and yard waste stickers will be delivered to resident’s in late March.  For your gardening use, we have compost (aged ground up yard waste) available for pick-up at the Road District facility, located at: 530 N. Smith Street, Palatine.  Call 847-358-6336 for directions.