Crow Island Woods access limited as stormwater project begins

The next stage in Winnetka’s stormwater mitigation efforts began Monday, March 4, near Crow Island School, where local agencies are uniting to place an underground storage facility.

It is Winnetka’s third recent stormwater project to provide flooding relief to west Winnetka.

The Winnetka Park District, Village of Winnetka and Winnetka Public Schools have joined forces for this project south of Willow Road that is expected to last until August.

During the project, crews will excavate a large area behind the Crow Island School’s playground equipment and adjacent to Mount Pleasant Lane for installation of the storage unit, which is intended to capture the area’s excess stormwater and send it over to the Hibbard Preserve Stormwater Management Wetland — another major and recent stormwater-mitigation effort in Winnetka.

The work will cause temporary closures of the park district’s shelter and lawn area in Crow Island Woods, and residents and visitors are encouraged to use the other amenities at the park during this time.

Winnetka’s previous and connected stormwater project added 79 acre-feet — or 25.7 million gallons — of stormwater relief to the northwest corner of Hibbard and Willow roads, while also leading to serious overhauls of New Trier’s athletics facilities and the park district’s Winnetka Golf Course. The project had a budget of $78 million.

The Village Council approved an $7.64 million contract with DiMeo Brothers, which worked on the Hibbard Road project, in February for work on the Crow Island project.

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