Obama's 'Fix it First' Program Would Mend 'Deficient' Will County Bridges

President Barack Obama proposed Tuesday night what he called a "Fix It First" program to address the nation's crumbling infrastructure—like roads and bridges—in an effort to improve citizens' quality of life and bring jobs to the United States.

"I propose a 'Fix-It-First' program to put people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs, like the nearly 70,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country," he said during the State of the Union Address.

"And to make sure taxpayers don’t shoulder the whole burden, I’m also proposing a Partnership to Rebuild America that attracts private capital to upgrade what our businesses need most—modern ports to move goods; modern pipelines to withstand a storm; modern schools worthy of our children."

The Transportation for America program is dedicated to "bringing together the most diverse coalition anywhere, eager to reform how we spend transportation dollars at the federal, state and local level to create a safer, cleaner and smarter transportation system that works for everyone," according to its website.

The site identifies infrastructure that is in need of rebuilding or improvement, including a number of bridges in Will County and one in Plainfield.

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The Renwick Road Bridge, built in 1900, is categorized as "structurally deficient," according to the site. But the more than century-old structure has already been replaced. In November, Plainfield Township unveiled a new, $7.4 million, two-lane bridge spanning the DuPage River.

The old one-lane bridge will remain in place, but is closed to vehicle traffic and can be used by pedestrians and cyclists only. The brand-new bridge has already received recognition, winning the Project of the Year designation from the southwest branch of the Chicago Metro chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA).

Read: New Renwick Road Bridge Opens with Fanfare

But there are other local bridges that are still in need of improvements.

The I-55 West Frontage Road Bridge, which is located south of Caton Farm Road and spans the Sunnyland drain, has also been IDed as being deficient. The bridge's average daily traffic is about 350 cars per day, according to the website.

The Gaylord Road Bridge in Crest Hill is also on the list and carries an estimated 6,600 cars per day. In Shorewood, the I-55 northbound to Route 59 bridge has also been designated as structurally deficient, as has the Black Road Bridge near Shorewood and the Weber and Royce Road Bridge in Bolingbrook.

Numerous bridges in Joliet, including Center Street, Washington Sreet, several I-80 bridges, Joliet Avenue, Barney Drive and Route 53, are on the list.

See the accompanying maps for a look at other deficient bridges, which are indicated in red, or visit the Transportation for America website to search for nearby bridges that have been identified as needing improvement.

Overall, Illinois ranks 35th in the country when it comes to inadequate bridges with about 8.5 percent of all its bridges rated as such.

That may change if Obama has anything to say about it.

"Let’s prove that there is no better place to do business than the United States of America," he said Tuesday. "And let’s start right away."

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