All offices of the Public Works Department are located at the Lester B. Bergsten Operations & Maintenance Center located at 3505 North Dries Lane, Peoria, Illinois 61604. 

Administration

The Administration office of the Public Works Department consists of the Public Works Director, a Program & Budget Administrator, and the clerical support staff for the Department, which includes three Administrative Specialists and two Fiscal Technicians.  The main focus of the Administration group is to oversee the Department's five divisions and to provide direction and budget management for the Department. Also included is the oversight of the City's Refuse, Recyclables & Yard Waste Collection Contract, as well as management of the City/County Landfll located in Edwards, Illinois.

Collectively, the Public Works Department includes 78 full time staff members, supplemented in the winter months with an additional 24 temporary maintenance workers to provide assistance during snow and ice events.   

Engineering

The Engineering Division is lead by the City Engineer. There are six staff members in this Division, including the City Engineer, Capital Budget Coordinator,  three Civil Engineer II’s (Licensed Professional Engineers), one Permit Engineer, and one Engineering Technician. This group leads the planning development of the annual Community Improvement Program (CIP), oversees the development of detailed construction drawings, and monitors construction projects through various consulting contracts. Plans for development projects are reviewed by this group to assure compliance with City standards.

Some of the specialized areas this Division handles are: Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Project, Erosion Control permits, Floodplain information, Neighborhood Block Party permits, Private Property Drainage Program, Right-of-Way Management, Sidewalk Programs (Sidewalk Participation and SINR -Sidewalks In Need of Repair, the Special Assessment Program, and Street Address Assignments.

Fleet/Equipment

The Fleet & Equipment Division manages the purchase, maintenance and repair of all City-owned
vehicles & equipment (excluding the Fire Department's). The staff in this Division includes the Fleet Services Manager, seven Vehicle Mechanics who split into providing service on a 1st and 2nd shift, and a Body Repairman. During winter storms, the shifts are adjusted to provide 24-hour coverage while snow plow trucks are on the street.

The current inventory of vehicles, including dump trucks, Police squad cars, vans, etc., add up to about 336 vehicles and pieces of equipment. In addition, there are over 90 small equipment items like chain saws, mowers, blowers, compressors, concrete saws and jack hammers that are maintained by the staff in this Division. 
 

Streets, Sewers & Forestry Division

This Division is led by the Manager of Streets, Sewers & Forestry and includes two Public Works Supervisors, one Public Works Planner and 27 Maintenance Workers. This Division is responsible for the maintenance of the City’s 485 miles of streets. The majority of the City street system has a chip seal surface, but there are also about 63 miles of asphalt-surfaced streets, 36 miles of concrete pavement and 5 miles of brick streets. Street sweeping is provided for the entire City at least two times per year and, in our downtown area, we try to sweep the streets on a more regular schedule based on appearance and need. The fleet of street sweepers includes six machines. The sewer crews are kept busy maintaining the City’s storm system that includes over 7,600 inlets.

Forestry services were added to this Division in 2010, and that work includes tree removals and  mowing of grass on City-owned lots, in City rights-of-way and in boulevard areas. These services are provided by contract. Between 150 and 200 trees are removed annually under one of our contracts, and limb removal and tree trimming operations are performed by City staff and contractors, as needed and when time permits. The Adopt-A-Tree Program and Mulch giveaway is handled by this Division.

Snow removal services are provided by this Division each winter. For storm response, the staff moves to a 12-hour split shift so we can provide around-the-clock response to storm events. The City’s fleet includes 30 larger trucks and 12 smaller tracks for use during storm events and the crews use road salt or a mix of road salt and sand, depending on weather conditions, pre-moistened in most events with a liquid form of calcium chloride to provide for removal of ice and snow from roadways.

Most of the streets within the limits of the City of Peoria are the responsibility of the City of Peoria. However, there are some streets that are not the responsibility of the City of Peoria for maintenance and snow removal. The State of Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has the responsibility for War Memorial Drive, I-74, Route 6, and Knoxville north of War Memorial Drive. Peoria County also has a few roadways in the City that they are responsible for and these include Charter Oak Road west of Big Hollow Road, Big Hollow Road, Willow Knolls Road, Wilhelm Road and a few others throughout the City.