After several weeks of technical delays, the DeKalb City Council approved an engineering division recommendation concerning construction on Fairview Drive last week.

The original consideration was deferred several times, most recently at the council’s Jan. 25 meeting, because the city had not obtained necessary easement and right-of-way property, said DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas.

“With the approval of the Nestle Plat and the recent completion of easement negotiations with adjacent property owners, the project can proceed,” he said.

With the necessary easements and right-of-way property in hand, the council approved the project as well as awarding a bid for construction.

Two construction companies, Stahl Construction Company and Elliott & Wood, Inc., had submitted bids to the city for the project.

“The low bid by Stahl Construction at $1,843,980.19 is 1.8 percent above the engineer’s estimate for the project,” said Ralph Tompkins, assistant director for DeKalb Public Works.

This is the bid the council accepted at last week’s meeting.

The cost of the project will be billed to the Illinois Department of Transportation, the city of DeKalb and DeKalb Township, Nicklas said.

“It is anticipated that the Illinois Department of Transportation will contribute about $.2 million to this project, leaving about $600,000 in costs to be evenly split between the city of DeKalb and DeKalb Township,” he said.

The goal of the project is to widen and improve the features of Fairview Drive, from Rt. 23 to Peace Road, as well as meet the expectations of an agreement the city entered into with Nestle Corporation concerning improvements.

“This project includes sufficient overlay thickness and required widening for posting as a 80,000-pound truck route and to meet time scheduling obligations of completion of Fairview Drive widening in accordance with an earlier Nestle’s agreement in 1992,” Tompkins said.

One of the impediments to proceeding with the Fairview Drive Project also was granted by the council on March 8. The council approved the final plat for the Nestle Corporation.

On February 24, the DeKalb Plan Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the plat.

Specifically, the plat includes a two-lot subdivision which surrounds the former Courtney Drive and Terwillger properties, said DeKalb Planning Director Mark Biernacki.

“The subdivision also dedicates portions of Fairview Drive right-of-way to the city,” he said. “Had the right-of-way dedication not been necessary, the subdivision could have taken place with a simple plat survey.”

He said the property Nestle acquired contains a total of almost 157 acres of land area, with one lot in the subdivision measuring almost 95 acres and the other lot measuring almost 59 acres. The additional three acres is made up of various road right-of-ways.