Sinkhole and collapse of Diamond Lake Road in Long Grove.

Heavy rains last week caused some localized neighborhood flooding in Long Grove, and more dramatically, a sinkhole and collapse of a portion of Diamond Lake Road. The drainage pipe running under the road at Indian Creek was old and failing, and storm water pushed through a rotted hole and washed out supporting gravel around the pipe. As the water levels receded, gravel further slid out of place and fell back into the tunnel, causing the pavement to collapse and leaving a crater several feet wide. Thankfully, the problem was detected immediately by nearby neighbors, and no one was hurt in the incident. Lake County is responsible for Diamond Lake Road, and this repair was previously scheduled for August of 2016. Mother Nature has accelerated this plan to August of this year, with repairs anticipated to be completed by early September.

This illustrates the fragile health of our infrastructure. And this problem is not limited to Long Grove, but is a concern to our County, State, and Federal road systems as well. When money is short and budgets constrained, one of the areas that can be susceptible to underfunding is infrastructure maintenance. The cost of repairs to our aging road systems has escalated over the years. Our Village budget revenues have not kept pace with the rate of infrastructure repairs that are needed on an annual basis. The Village Board has for many years engaged a series of discussions, town hall meetings, focus groups, and a referendum question in an attempt to address this growing problem. Sometimes amid a controversy, we can overlook why a change is really needed. Big events like a road collapse capture everyone’s attention for the moment. And if we pay attention, before the moment drains away….maybe there is something here to be learned?