Utility Issues Delay Pedestrian Bridge

The village officials are working to resolve an unexpected utility issue, but said the Lockport Street pedestrian bridge will still be mostly completed this winter.

On Monday, the village board inked an agreement with ComEd to relocate overhead lines to allow contractor D construction to safely proceed with the project.

“While working out a some of the utility conflict issues has pushed the schedule back a bit, we are confident that D Construction will have the substructure completed by the end of this month,” said Public Works Director Allen Persons.

A conflict arose on the east side of the bridge when it was discovered that workers could not safely dig for the new bridge extension without affecting a ComEd switchbox gear and pole.

According to Persons, it will be up to the village to fund the estimated $217,945 cost of relocating the overhead power lines to underground, including the relocation of the large switchbox gear. 

"We believe the total cost will be lower than the estimate," he added, noting that the village anticipates the project work will also qualify for grant funding.

According to Persons, the bridge — which was originally slated for completion by Dec. 1 — will be substantially finished by mid-December.

“We would like to have a ribbon-cutting at that time,” he said.

The project is funded by a $1 million llinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity grant and will feature a 10-foot-wide, ADA-compliant walkway linking the east and west sides of town from James Street to Countryman Drive.

Decorative street lighting, which added $250,000 to the project, will also be included, lighting the path from Main Street to Village Center Drive. 

In June, the village awarded a $1,073,237 contract to Coal City-based D Construction for the project.

The pedestrian walkway joins another long-awaited bridge project; construction is currently under way on a new Renwick Road Bridge. This week, Highway Commissioner Sam Reichert said the new two-lane bridge could be completed by the end of October.

Persons has said the new pedestrian bridge will make the downtown area safer and more accessible for pedestrians. He estimated 18,000 cars travel over the existing bridge every day.