ROCHELLE — The City of Rochelle will begin alley reconstruction work this summer, City Street Department Superintendent Tim Isley said May 15. 

The city maintains about eight miles of alleys in Rochelle, Isley said, many of which are in disrepair due to years of garbage trucks driving pickup routes on them and freezing and thawing. Many of Rochelle’s alleys currently have crowning in the middle, Isley said. 

Due to the current shape of the alleys, the city will be removing the pavement completely, installing a new base and installing hot mix asphalt over that. 

“We also want to fix them so they're easier to plow,” Isley said. “They're not as easy to get clean now with the crowns in the middle of them. They're in very rough shape and have been for years. Sometimes in the past we've tried to go in and fill some of the ruts, but we're to the point where it's time to do a full reconstruction.”

Following the city’s recent negotiation of a new garbage contract, garbage trucks no longer drive on alleys in Rochelle and following reconstruction, Isley said alleys “should be in good shape for 20+ years.” Alleys with dumpsters for apartments in them that some trucks do have to drive on will be built stronger.

All of the alley reconstruction work will be done in house by the city’s street department. Isley said that will result in a 30-40-percent savings instead of having a contractor do the work. The cost for city crews to do the work will be somewhere in the range of $20,000 per alley per block, Isley said. 

The alley work is likely to start in July. The city hopes to get at least five blocks reconstructed this summer depending on the other work it has on its plate. It will take “several years” to get all of the alleys in town reconstructed, Isley said. 

The city will first prioritize alley work on the west side of town where sidewalk work was done last year. That will wrap up the walking and driving infrastructure in those areas, including the aprons that lead into alleys. Those west-wide alleys are also among those in the worst condition in Rochelle, Isley said. 

“We will get those repaired first and then we'll jump to the east side and start working our way west,” Isley said. “The east side is the next spot that has the worst alleys. We'll get started this year and do what we can as the years go by. We'll get as much done as we can each year as long as the funding is there to do it.”

Along with giving residents a way to get to their garages and back driveways, alleys also contain easements for infrastructure such as electric and gas lines and keep cars off the streets. 

“If we didn't have them, the line crews would have to go through people's yards to get in there or Illinois Route 251 would have very unsightly power poles everywhere to get power to those homes,” City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh said. “For some residents, without an alley, they'd have no access to their driveways and homes, especially if you live on Illinois Route 251 or one of the main streets. We're invested in and looking forward to keeping alleys up and in good shape for residents in perpetuity.”