Drivers planning on getting to Wilmette from Sheridan Road this summer may have to adjust their routes, as two eastern approaches to the village – the Linden Avenue bridge crossing the North Shore Channel and its southern twin at Maple Avenue – become temporarily impassable.
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, which owns both bridges, says the two are scheduled to undergo repairs and maintenance until Aug. 31, although at least one of the bridges will be open at all times, district officials said. Work on the bridges, both of which are more than a century old, could be completed earlier than scheduled, according to the MWRD notice.
The Linden Avenue bridge, which lies just west of the landmark Baha’i House of Worship and provides a route to Wilmette’s Linden Square business district, has been closed to vehicular traffic since March 1, and will remain blocked until May 31.
Work on the Maple Avenue bridge will begin thereafter, running between June 1 and August 31, according to the MWRD.
In each case, crews will be completing structural repairs, sidewalk replacement, incorporating bike paths across each span, and cleaning and painting the bridges, according to the MWRD. General contractor for the projects is Elgin-based IHC Construction Companies, LLC.
The water reclamation district has set up signs pointing to detour routes for both closures. During the Linden closure, drivers can get to Linden Avenue west of the bridge by taking 3rd Street north of Linden, or Maple Avenue south of Linden. According to the MWRD, when Maple Avenue is blocked by its bridge work, drivers can use Linden or Isabella Street, at the Evanston-Wilmette border, for east-west travel.
Michael Braiman, Wilmette’s assistant village manager, said his office has received no complaints about the project.
Not all traffic is blocked from the east-west Linden route; pedestrians will be able to cross the bridges during the majority of work on each, according to the village’s website.
That’s proven to be helpful for visitors and staff members at the House of Worship, Ellen Price said.
Price, the assistant director of the Baha’i National Center, said most visitors driving to the temple haven’t been affected by the Linden closure, since cars can turn west on Linden and drive far enough to get into the parking lot next to the House of Worship’s welcome center. At least one would-be visitor did call the center from the west approach to the Linden span, asking for alternate directions, but that hasn’t happened often, she said.
The bigger problem was for pedestrians, Price said.
“At first when they closed it, you couldn’t walk over the bridge, and that was a big concern, because a lot of people come to the temple by taking the Purple Line (CTA “L” train),” Price said. “They’d walk up Linden from the station and that’s a long walk to get stopped at the bridge. And we have offices at 4th Street and Linden, so walking to meetings was also a challenge.”
Tour buses that come to the House of Worship haven’t used the Linden Avenue approach for three or four years because of weight restrictions on the bridge, Price said.
“Hopefully after the bridge work is done, they’ll be able to use Linden, but they’ve gotten in the habit of avoiding it,” she said.
Price said that Baha’i National Center officials estimate between 250,000 and 300,000 people visit the distinctive House of Worship each year. Some do so for spiritual reasons and others visit the temple – one of only eight such sites worldwide for the Baha’i faith, and the only one in North America – because of its architecture, she said.
The Linden and Maple bridges were built in 1908, at the time the North Shore Channel was constructed, MWRD public affairs officer Allison Fore said.
Their repair is part of a $2.09 million project encompassing five bridges, she said; in addition to the Linden and Maple structures, the project includes the MWRD Sheridan Road bridge next to the House of Worship, adjacent to Wilmette Harbor. Work on that bridge was largely completed in 2016 and 2017, Fore said.
The two other bridges cross the channel at Church and Main Streets at the Skokie-Evanston border.
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