Flooding Controversy Rattles Residents Along Bloomingdale Trail

The construction work was part of massive neighborhood upgrade called "The 606"

Some residents in a Chicago neighborhood are asking for help from a construction company after they say the company is to blame for flooding in their homes following last week’s heavy rain and storms.

Neighbors say mesh covers on drains along Bloomingdale Avenue, which were left by Walsh Construction as they worked on a massive neighborhood upgrade called “The 606,” prevented rain from draining and caused flooding along the street.

“It was pretty bad,” said resident Judie Knorle. “One of my neighbors had to move out completely.”

Knorle said the mesh was placed inside the drains to catch falling debris during the construction, which is part of a plan to build a trail connecting several Chicago neighborhoods, but residents are accusing the company of failing to remove the mesh when they were done.

One resident said water started “gushing” down the street during the storms.

“It was almost like a lazy river of construction stuff coming down,” said Thomas Patrini.

While several residents say Walsh Construction has been responsible throughout the construction, some are calling on the company to help out with flooding costs.

“We’re eager for the trail to be finished,” said Knorle. “It’s a $100 million project and they can’t clean drains? Somebody dropped the ball.”

When finished, the 2.7-mile Bloomingdale Trail, which runs along Bloomingdale Avenue from Ridgeway Avenue to Ashland Avenue, is expected to transform an unused rail line in Wicker Park, Bucktown, Logan Square and Humboldt Park into an elevated, multi-use trail with parks.

On Tuesday, new mesh covers protected the drains after another round of construction work.

NBC Chicago’s request for comment from Walsh Construction was not immediately returned.

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