Welcome to the Southwest Branch Website!
Grand Prairie Water Commission – April 5th, 2023
Please join us as Allison Swisher from the City of Joliet and Thereas O’Grady from Crawford, Murphy & Tilly present on the Grand Prairie Water Commission’s upcoming water delivery infrastructure improvements to provide high quality Lake Michigan water to the communities of Channahon, Crest Hill, Joliet, Minooka, Romeoville, and Shorewood by 2030.
2023 Awards Banquet – Postponed (to be rescheduled for a different date in 2023)
The 2023 Southwest Branch Awards Banquet is being rescheduled to a later date in 2023. Please join us as we recognize the award winning projects from the Southwest Branch. The award winners include the following:
- Environment (Less than $5 Million): Berry Lane Stormwater Improvements – Village of Flossmoor
- Structures (Less than $5 Million): John Humphrey Sports Complex – Village of Orland Park
- Transportation (Less than $5 Million): Illinois Street Streetscape Improvement – Village of Plainfield
- Transportation (Between $5 Million and $25 Million): Ridge Road Reconstruction and Widening at CN Railroad Viaduct – Grundy County Highway Department
Previous Events This Year:
March 2023 News:
Thank you very much Eric Wesel with the Will County Division of Transportation for presenting WCDOT’s current and upcoming transportation improvement projects. Eric gave an overview of WCDOT’s current Phase I, II, and construction projects, along with information regarding upcoming projects the County plans to take on over the next few years.
January 2023 News:
Thank you very much Logan Gilbertsen with HR Green for presenting tips for performing site visits on localized drainage issues. Logan went into detail about how to prepare for a drainage issues assessment, what to look for during the visit, and tips for coordinating with the public.
Past Year Highlights:
November 2022 News:
Thank you very much Brian Nestler with American Red Cross of Illinois for presenting on what Red Cross can do for local communities in case of a disaster. Brian went into detail about how Red Cross was able to provide relief to the Naperville and Woodridge communities during the 2021 tornado. Congratulations to Village of Elwood (Environmental less than $5M) and the City of Joliet ( Environmental $25M – $75M) for their 2022 award winning projects that were showcased during the November meeting.
October 2022 News:
Thank you very much to Brandon Thomas with Trotter and Associates for their detailed presentation on lift station evaluation and design. After the presentation the attendees were provided the opportunity to visit one of the City of Joliet’s lift station that was previously evaluated by Trotter and Associates. Congratulations to the Village of Channahon for their award winning project (Environmental $5M – $25M), Channahon’s Strategic Master Planning Facilitated Cost-Effective Phased Improvements.
September 2022 News:
Thank you very much to Steve Lane and Steve Ludwig with Great Lakes Urban Forestry Management for their very informative presentation on GIS Mapping for Tree Inventories and Asset Management Level of Service Insights. Congratulations to Orland Park (Transportation- $5M – $25M) and New Lenox (Structures- $5M – $25M) for their award winning projects that were also showcased at the September meeting.
August 2022 News:
The Southwest Branch hosted the 9th annual Demo and Product Fair at the Joliet Eastside WWTP on August 3rd, 2022. This event provided an opportunity for vendors to showcase their products and have public works staff learn more about these products as well as how they could help their community. There were 30 vendors, 5 presentations/demonstrations, and over 180 attendees. The event also had a BBQ and bags tournament, which was won by Matt Raymond and Greg Snodgrass from the Village of Plainfield.
June 2022 News:
Southwest Branch had the first APWA Golf Outing of the year which was successful in raising funds for branches scholarship fund. We could have asked for better weather, but there were a few foursomes that finished all 18 holes. The Southwest Branch also awarded three scholarships to very deserving applicants. Thank to Don Cassier for planning a very successful Golf Outing and Jonathan Kjellman for coordinating the scholarships.
May 2022 News:
On May 4th, the APWA SW Branch and Fox Valley Branch cosponsored an educational event at Clarke Environmental. The event was an overview of Integrated Mosquito Control & Annual Solid Mosquito Larvicide Training which certifies attendees for the Illinois Department of Agriculture Special Application one-hour Solid Larvicide Training Requirement. Thank you to Clarke Environmental for hosting the event.
April 2022 News:
On April 6th, the APWA SW Branch held the 2022 Awards Banquet at the Patrick Haley Mansion. Thank you to all members that attended this event to recognize the award winning projects from the SW Branch.
Public Works Project of the Year:
- Essington Road over Rock Run Creek (Transportation, less than $5M)
- 151st Street Improvements (Transportation, $5M to $25M)
- Romeoville PW Fleet Maintenance Building (Structures, less than $5M)
- New Lenox Rock Island Train Station (Structures, $5M to $25M)
- Elwood Water System Improvement (Environment, less than $5M)
- Channahon WWTP Improvements (Environment, $5M to $25M)
- Joliet Five Year Water Main Improvement Program (Environment, $25M to $75M)
Congratulations to all the award winners!
March 2022 News:
Thank you very much to TranSystems and Zachary Pucel for an engaging presentation on Minimizing Issues During Construction. Congratulations to 2022 Structures (less than $5 million) project award winner that was also showcased, Romeoville Public Works Fleet Maintenance Building.
February 2022 News:
Thank you very much to East Jordan and Paul Thibaudeau for a very interesting webinar on Iron Casting Manufacturing and Design. Congratulations to 2022 Transportation (less than $5 million) project award winner that was also showcased, Essington Road over Rock Run Creek.
2023 Executive Members:
President
Alex Alejandro, P.E. CFM
Hancock Engineering
Vice President
Owen Dean, PE
City of Joliet
Treasurer
Jonatha Kjellman, PE
HDR
Past President
Eric Neubauer, P.E.
HDR
Here is our schedule and tentative topics for 2023:
Monthly Meetings (1st Wednesday of the Month):
January 11th – Tips for Site Visits of Localized Drainage Issues (HR Green)
February 2nd– Awards Ceremony – Postponed
March 1st – Will County Division of Transportation Design and Construction Updates (WCDOT)
April 5th – Grand Prairie Water Commission (Joliet & CMT)
May 3rd – TBD
June 14th – Southwest Branch Golf Outing at Silver Lakes
July – No meeting
August 2nd – Demo and Product Fair
September 6th – TBD
October 4th – TBD
November 1st – TBD
December TBD – Southwest Branch Holiday Party
Thank you for visiting this web page. Please contact Owen Dean at odean@joliet.gov if you have any comments/questions.