Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering blasted the North Shore Water Reclamation District during a recent City Council meeting for allegedly stalling a Sheridan Road culvert project, accusing its leadership of “irresponsible” inaction that could risk closing the community’s main artery. The Illinois Department of Transportation plans to replace a failing culvert under Sheridan Road close to the Rosewood Beach entrance with a bridge, a plan Rotering said has been discussed for about eight years. In tandem, the city plans to install a sidewalk east of Sheridan, from Roger Williams Avenue to Dean Avenue, using $1.65 million in grant money from the state. The intergovernmental agreement for that grant money was extended by a year for a second time during the Oct. 15 meeting. Rotering said the holdup was because both the culvert replacement and sidewalk projects are being stalled by the NSWRD, which handle’s Highland Park’s wastewater. She accused the district of failing to coordinate with the Illinois Department of Transportation. “This is beyond irresponsible, as the NSWRD has been aware of this critical infrastructure repair project for at least 8 years,” she said. Rotering said Highland Park has repeatedly discussed the issue, both with government partners and NSWRD leadership, with little success. Now, the NSWRD’s portion of the infrastructure project will “exceed NSWRD’s entire annual capital budget,” she said. “NSWRD’s willful denial and refusal to engage in productive planning over the past 8 years has resulted in an urgent crisis,” Rotering said. She said she saw no plan for a change of course from the NSWRD, and called for community members to reach out to the district with their concerns. “They’ve chosen to ignore us,” the mayor said during the meeting. “They’ve chosen to kind of put their hands over their ears and pretend this project is not going to happen. The project has to happen. The bottom line is, if this project doesn’t get done, the road will need to close. “That makes no sense to have to close Sheridan road because another government isn’t doing what it needs to do,” she said. Temporary steps have been taken to keep the road open safely, and IDOT is monitoring, Rotering said, but “time is running out.” She said she’s reached out to U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider’s office, as well as state Sen. Julie Morrison, state Rep. Bob Morgan, and Lake County Board Commissioner Paul Frank for assistance. In response to questions about Rotering’s comments, Dave Miller, the NSWRD executive director, said the district agreed that  “the risk, complexity and cost” of the project are “indeed significant.” “The district … continues to work with IDOT and the city of Highland Park on a solution and design that adequately addresses the needs of all public infrastructure impacted by this project, particularly those needs that have the potential to adversely impact public health and safety,” Miller said.