Documenting Metra’s Time Line for the Ridgefield Station

I went Freedom of Information fishing at Crystal Lake’s City Hall recently looking for any paper trail for Metra’s Ridgefield Train Station.

Let me lay out chronologically what I found:

  • March 31, 2009 – a soil borings report from Geo Services, Inc., a graphic of which you see above.
  • April 15, 2009 – a geotechnical investigation report from Geo Services, Inc.
  • April 21, 2009 – an engineer’s drainage report from SEC Group, Inc., of McHenry (which I assume is the new name of Smith Engineering)
  • April 23, 2009 – Concept Plan IIA, Preliminary Grading
  • June 10, 2009 – legal description of the property
  • July 1, 2009 – memo from Darren Olsen, City Water Resources Section Head, and Scott Griffin, Water Resources Engineer, to Eric Morinmoto, Assistant City Engineer, and Steve Carruthers, Civil Engineer. (All are professional engineers.)

August 5th was the date us mere mortals found out about the plan.

That’s when McHenry County College found about it as well, even though during the Metra Board discussion MCC’s lack of a station was noted in the context that it was the only community college without a train station.

The July 1st report, if I read it correctly, indicates there are drainage problems with the parcel.

“…It appears that portions of the entrance drive and southern parking lot areas do not access first flush treatment prior to discharging to the wetland treatment basins…The treatment train methodology in the Crystal Lake Watershed Design Manual should be followed…

“…The proposed infiltration method utilizes dry wells and stone infiltration trenches.  This in not in accordance with the Crystal Lake Watershed Design Manual.  The infiltration method should be revised to include an infiltration basin that maximizes water quality and does not rely on dry wells. An infiltration basin with native vegetation and an engineered soil media will meet this requirement…

“There are offsite areas that are planned to be routed through the onsight BMPs.  The onsite BMPs need to be upsized in accordance with the Crystal Lake Design Manual…”

No follow-up information has been received from Metra.


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