CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A northwest suburban Prairie Grove businessman said an IDOT road improvement four years ago continues to leave his property under water when heavy rains hit.
Jack Shields said he worries any time there’s a hard rain, or especially when frozen ground thaws and rains follow.
He owns Jax Auto & Tire shop at routes 31 and 176 in Prairie Grove.
The intersection was reconstructed by the Illinois Department of Transportation in 2015, and Shields said that's when the real flooding issues began.
He said there used to be a culvert in front of his business that gathered rainwater and continued along Route 31; but, when the intersection was re-done, he said the culvert was stopped at his business' property, the lowest point on the block.
To make matters worse, Shields said a pipe runs from the other side of Route 31, and into his culvert causing his building to be surrounded by water.
"My building gets surrounded by water on all four corners. We have a square acre here," he said.
"I am working on purchasing this property and I cannot until this is resolved. I cannot. This property is damaged goods right now," Shields said.
IDOT said it has tried to work with Shields and will continue to. In the meantime, the agency said there’s a project in the planning stages to improve Route 31 in that stretch along with new storm sewers, but there's no timetable yet for when that will happen.