Cress Creek's Ogden Avenue Construction Calendar Now Runs to July 2027

When do the orange barrels finally leave Ogden Avenue at Washington Street? The city's answer is November 13. Joshua Strait, the city's engineering manager of water utilities, gave NCTV17 that date for finishing the first phase of the water main replacement. That's eight days after this post goes up.

That date covers one phase and its lane closures. Naperville's own City Council documents keep the project's construction manager under contract through July 30, 2027, for a spring punch-list walkthrough, any remedial work and final closeout. The second phase, a separate dig on Ogden west of Washington, has been pushed to 2027. For the corridor nearest Cress Creek, November closes out this year's lane closures, and 2027 already has work on the schedule.

A one-season job that has now taken three

The first phase replaces a cast-iron water main laid in the 1950s and 1960s. The city says that pipe has reached the end of its useful life. The new main is a larger 16-inch pipe, and crews are also replacing the valves, hydrants and service connections along the route. The work runs on Ogden Avenue between Washington Street and Wright Street, and on Washington Street between Ogden Avenue and Bauer Road.

Construction started in spring 2025, paused for the fall and winter, and picked back up the week of May 18, 2026. The finish date has moved more than once along the way.

The City Council file approved on March 18 states the reason plainly. "Construction delays have resulted in the final completion date for construction shifting from October 31, 2025, to the summer 2026." Summer then slipped into fall. If November 13 holds, a project first scheduled to wrap up before Halloween 2025 will wrap up a little more than a year after that.

The delays also cost money. Ciorba Group, the firm the council hired on April 2, 2025 to manage construction, got a change order of up to $388,050 for the extra months. Naper Today reported that this brought Ciorba's Phase 1 engineering contract to $702,575. That figure covers construction oversight only.

What November 13 ends, and what it doesn't

November 13 is when drivers on Ogden near Washington should get relief from the lane closures, as Naper Today put it in its October 16 report. The same article says the city's project page, last updated October 8, lists completion "by the end of November." So mid-November is the target for the lanes, and the city's own page gives the work until the end of the month. Both are still forecasts as of this writing, and the weather between now and Thanksgiving gets a say.

The project also has a second deadline, set by the contract. When the council extended Ciorba's agreement from December 31, 2026 to July 30, 2027, it explained why. The extension "allows them to be available for the spring punch list walkthrough, any remedial work, and final closeout."

A punch list is the final inspection, the walkthrough that catches anything unfinished or not up to standard before a job is formally closed. For Phase 1, the city has scheduled that walkthrough for spring 2027. Phase 1 is set up in three stages:

1. Through mid-to-late November 2026. Lane closures end and the main construction push wraps up.
2. Winter 2026–27. No punch-list or closeout work is scheduled in the council file before spring.
3. Spring 2027 through July 30, 2027. The punch-list walkthrough, any remedial work the city finds, and final closeout.

The engineering contract, rather than any on-site construction, is what runs to July 30, 2027. Its closeout services cover the punch list, remedial fixes and paperwork that formally finish the job.

West of Washington, the next dig waits on IDOT

The second phase continues the new 16-inch main west on Ogden Avenue from Washington Street, toward Naperville North High School. NCTV17 reported that it ends just past Mill Street. Naper Today put the end point at about 1,000 feet past Mill.

Back in May, the city's news notice said Phase 2 was "scheduled to begin in early summer, pending weather and no major timeline changes." That start never came. Naper Today reported that the city's project page confirmed the postponement on July 16. It cited permitting from the Illinois Department of Transportation and other factors, and NCTV17's October story says the work is now set for 2027. Ogden Avenue is also Route 34, so a dig under it involves the state as well as the city.

The 2027 start ties directly to the Phase 1 delays. In the City Council file for Phase 2, staff wrote that Phase 2 "was intended to be constructed after completion of Phase I; however, delays in the completion of Phase I will result in an overlapping construction timeline with Phase II." Since the two jobs sit right next to each other, the city gave Phase 2 to the same firm, Ciorba Group. It cited better coordination and savings from having one construction engineer on both.

The Phase 2 contract is worth up to $394,428 and runs about 16 months, through July 30, 2027. It includes full-time construction observation, video recording of existing conditions, material testing, and daily communication with the city. Phase 1's punch list and Phase 2's contract both run to the same July 30, 2027 date. That means 2027 has two jobs scheduled on adjoining stretches of Ogden: closeout east of Washington and new construction to the west.

Planning around the corridor through 2027

The city's May notice sets out how the work runs, and that should carry over to whatever happens on Ogden next year.

• Weekday hours. Crews generally work Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. They sometimes stay past 3:30 but should be off the site by 5 p.m., so evenings and weekends have been the easier times to drive Ogden and Washington.
• Water service. The city warns of occasional water-service interruptions while the work goes on and says crews will try to notify affected residents ahead of time.
• Traffic alerts. The city sends traffic alerts by phone call, text, email or app through Naper Notify. The city has said it will share Phase 2 traffic details before that work begins.
• Project updates. The city's water main replacement projects page has posted the schedule changes so far, including the October 8 update and the July 16 Phase 2 postponement.

Two dates go on the calendar for the corridor around Cress Creek Park at 1311 Royal St. George Drive. November 13 is when the city expects Phase 1's lane closures on Ogden and Washington to end. July 30, 2027 is when the engineering contracts for both phases expire. The spring punch list and the 2027 Phase 2 work west toward Mill Street are both scheduled between those dates.

If you're thinking about listing a Cress Creek home in spring 2027, the Ogden Avenue schedule is worth considering along with everything else on your calendar. The Phase 1 punch-list walkthrough is set for spring, and Phase 2 is scheduled for sometime in 2027. Sandy Hunter Homes can help you plan showings and photography around the corridor's work schedule, starting with an accurate idea of what your home is worth today. Get Your Instant Home Valuation.