[Bill Nickeas]

JEFFERSON PARK — A project to replace an 89-year-old sewer with larger pipes has made a mess of pickup and dropoff at St. Tarcissus School.

Crews are working to install 24-inch and 30-inch sewer mains underneath Ardmore Avenue between Austin and Melvina avenues, directly in front of the Jefferson Park Catholic school at 6040 W. Ardmore Ave., forcing parents to figure out a new route to get their preschool through eighth-grade students to class on time.

[Bill Nickeas]

The work is part of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's $7 billion Building a New Chicago program, which has replaced tens of thousands of miles of aging sewers throughout the city since 2012, officials said.

The new pipes will replace 12-inch pipes installed in 1927 in an effort to improve drainage in Jefferson Park and prevent nearby homes from flooding, said Gary Litherland, a spokesman with the Chicago Department of Water Management.

The work, which began this week, is scheduled to last until mid-April, Litherland said.

[Bill Nickeas]

"Every effort is being made to minimize impact on the neighborhood, students and parents," Litherland said.

Although the department strives to complete construction projects near schools during the summer months while students are on vacation, other utility work is scheduled in this area this summer, creating a conflict and forcing crews to do the work while students are in session, Litherland said.

Ald. John Arena (45th) asked water department officials to minimize the project's impact on students and parents since it could not be delayed, said Owen Brugh, the alderman's chief of staff.

But Bill Nickeas, a parent of a student at St. Tarcissus, said Arena should have convinced city officials to postpone the work.

"This is a project that could and should have been postponed until school is over," Nickeas said.

[Bill Nickeas]

St. Tarcissus Principal Michael Johnson told parents that students arriving by car should be dropped off near the church parking lot on Moody Avenue and leave the area via Milwaukee Avenue.

Johnson, who did not return an email this week from DNAinfo Chicago, urged parents to leave earlier and allow more time to drop off their children because of the typically heavy morning traffic on Milwaukee Avenue.

Students who walk to school can still enter the building on Ardmore Avenue, Johnson told parents in an email.

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