The Kishwaukee River bank and bed is getting a make-over.

“This project will benefit the community overall,” said Roger Chilton, assistant director of Public Works in DeKalb. “In the long-run, everyone will benefit from this project,” he said.

Rockford Blacktop began the fourth phase of an ongoing excavation project to clean up the Kishwaukee River Jan. 14.

The project began in 1983 to help the river maintain its flood water carrying capacity and to help minimize damage to the river in case of a flood, Chilton said.

“The flood in 1983 was the worst flood since the middle ‘50s,” he said.

Each phase of the project is begun when sufficient funds are available. “The budget only allows for the $15,000-plus project to be completed in phases, Chilton said.

Currently, sediment is being dredged from the bottom and sides of the river to lower the water level. Work is now taking place by the College Street bridge.

He said he expects this phase to last three to four weeks. More phases of the project will continue through the years whenever the budget allows, he said.

“The most recent work was done a couple of years ago,” he said.

The multi-phase project is a result of a 1983 meeting between the Public Works committee and others on how to solve the problems that appeared on the river, Chilton said.

In the early phases, forestry growth along the river which retained water was removed to bring the river back into its original channel, Chilton said. “Several areas of (other) concern were also worked on,” he added.

A levy system for the river was constructed in the early to middle 1950s to control flooding. Over the years, the levies eroded, resulting in the 1983 flood. Construction on the project won’t cause many problems for pedestrians or vehicles, he said. The only possible problem is the closing of a bike path along the river, he added.