Decorative Pedestrian Walkway Planned for Lockport St. Bridge

Plainfield is close to landing a $1 million grant to build a decorative pedestrian bridge over the DuPage River at Lockport Street, village staff told the Plainfield Village Board Monday.

Although not a done deal yet, all indications are that the Illinois Department of Transportation is in the final stages of approving the money, Public Works Director Allen Persons said. Once approval is granted and the money released, the village will immediately go out for bids with the hope for a late spring/early summer construction start date and possible completion in the fall, he said.

There is some possibility that the money could be ensnared in the appellate court case in which the state’s capital program funding has been found to be unconstitutional, but it’s appearing this may not be one of the projects that gets stalled as a result of it, Persons said.  

The village has completed the last legal survey for the project, as required by IDOT, and they’ve been in close contact with the state staffer who is finalizing the grant, he said.

“In essence, we know there are people in Springfield working on this,” Persons said.

The project calls for the addition of a 10-foot width extension of the bridge on the south side to create a walking area for pedestrians and bikers. Ornamental lighting will be added, essentially tying together the two sides of Lockport Street – the downtown portion and the more recently built-out stretch on which Plainfield Village Hall and several other new developments have been built.

The bridge also ties into the village’s plans to develop park land on both sides of the DuPage at Lockport Street, giving people easier access to Riverfront and Electric parks and enhancing the view of the bridge as seen from the parks, officials said.

Persons emphasized that bridge construction will not cost $1 million. A portion of the money is needed to relocate utilities, he said.

While Plainfield may be waiting for the bridge money, an emergency road repair grant for $975,000 from the state is already in hand and contracts for several road resurfacing projects have been approved, said Randy Jessen, village superintendent of public improvements.

Among the streets that will be repaired with the money are sections of Walker, Countyline and Indian Boundary roads, 135th Street near the DuPage River, Ridge Road from 127th to 119th streets and 127th Street west from Ridge.

And even better news, because bids came in $150,000 below budget, the remaining money can be used for other road projects in the village, Jessen said.

It’s not been decided what additional work will be funded with the windfall, but staff has determined where they’ll spend this year’s Motor Fuel Tax this summer. Slated for resurfacing are streets in Walkers Grove and Natures Crossing subdivisions and on Millennium Parkway in Century Trace and Fraser Road near River Road, Jessen said.