Ground was ceremonially broken Wednesday for a major utility project in Hebron’s Snake Flats neighborhood, a month after actual construction began.

Grimmer Construction, of Highland, is replacing ancient cast iron four-inch water mains with PVC pipe. The project includes 3,800 feet of eight-inch diameter pipe and 5,100 feet of six-inch pipe.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is handling federal funding for the project. The town provided not only the 25% cash match for the project but also an additional $2.7 million to include two bid options beyond the base bid.

“That level of commitment speaks volumes about the leadership and the value placed on the wellbeing of this community,” said Felicia Kirksey, chief of programs and the project management branch in the Corps’ Chicago office.

The nearly $4 million cost to install the water and storm sewer lines doesn’t include paving the roads and widening sidewalks, another phase of the project.

“What we’re beginning today, replacing nearly 9,000 feet of aging water mains will directly improve service reliability, fire protection and access to safe drinking water,” Corps of Engineers project manager Ron Papa said. “This project represents the kind of collaboration and purpose-driven work that makes public service so meaningful.”

Kirksey said the Corps is proud to support projects that improve residents’ quality of life. “The existing system has served its time. It’s outdated, difficult to access and prone to frequent breaks that interrupt service and threaten fire protection capabilities,” she said.

Already, the old water line being replaced has broken repeatedly while Grimmer’s crew is digging it up – as if the ground surrounding it has been holding the brittle pipes together.

Town Council President John Spinks said the project includes 27 gate valves, 10 fire hydrants, repaving streets and extending walking paths.

“Hebron is in the midst of the longest economic boom in half a century,” he said. The town is doing its share to attract development and improve the quality of life by upgrading parks, painting murals, inviting new businesses to fill empty spaces, building walking paths and more.

“With improvements like these, Hebron will never be considered too close to anywhere to be everything we want to be,” Spinks said.

That has brought construction of new homes for the first time in nearly 30 years.

U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, said showing up is one thing, but delivering on funds is another.

“This water line and this transformational project allows for clean water, allows for public safety, allows quality of life here in Hebron, allows for economic development,” he said. “This is for the next generation of people who live here in Hebron, allows them to thrive and to make this place their home.”

“They’re definitely doing it right here in Hebron,” Grimmer’s project manager, Dan Harrington, said, by not just replacing the water line but also adding storm drains as well as repaving streets and replacing sidewalks.

The PVC pipe will have a lifetime of at least 60 years, he predicted.

Clerk-Treasurer Jamie Uzelac lives in the Snake Flats area where the work is being done. Work is expected to reach her home next week.

The town had saved enough money over the years to pay for the water project on its own, but then COVID-19 hit and boosted prices for the work, along with everything else, because of supply chain disruptions, Uzelac said.

Snake Flats is one of the oldest parts of Hebron. Uzelac’s home is 100 years old, she said. Papa said the work, which began March 12, is expected to be completed by late summer or October.

Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.