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Sewers, Roadways Getting Replaced In Dimmitt's Grove Neighborhood

City of Bloomington

The Bloomington City Council is acting to build new sewer lines in a part of the city lacking full service. Mayor Tari Renner said the city sewer system is in bad shape.

Speaking during GLT's Sound Ideas Renner hailed council action to build new lines replacing private sewer lines dating back more than 140 years in the historic Dimmitt's Grove neighborhood. The private lines make long runs to hook into the city's service.

Renner said the roads in that area are also dilapidated which helped make those sewers a top priority...

"We've got to fix the sewers underneath Grove and other streets and any other utilities that are underneath before we pave over them because we don't want to pave a street and then have to tear it up in five years or three years," said Renner. 

Gridley and Olive streets would also be affected by the sewer work. Grove would be repaved in 2018 and sidewalks repaired in 2019. 

"The condition of Grove Street is one of the factors that led the staff to recommend that this be at the top of the list," said Renner.

Credit Cristian Jaramillo / WGLT
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WGLT
Mayor Renner, flanked by Alderman Painter on the left and Alderman Schmidt on the right.

Bloomington's Mayor is pleased the city is prioritizing the Grove, Olive, Gridley Street areas for sewer repair. Speaking on GLT's Sound Ideas, Mayor Tari Renner said that's because the roads can't be fixed till the sewer work is done...

Renner also said the sewer system needs about 141-million-dollars of work.  As far as he can tell, until his term, the city never had a master plan for infrastructure repair. 

WGLT Senior Reporter Charlie Schlenker has spent more than three award-winning decades in radio. He lives in Normal with his family.