The Kates Road Bridge in Deerfield was closed Friday due to concerns about its safety and it won’t reopen until a full reconstruction of the bridge is finished later this year, according to village officials.
The bridge was has been flagged for replacement for several years and engineers have been coming out to inspect the structure more frequently to maintain safety, said David Fitzgerald, a management analyst for the village.
After an inspection report was received by the village early last week, village officials in consultation with the Illinois Department of Transportation decided to close the bridge until it was rebuilt “due to the deterioration we’re seeing.”
The inspection identified cracks on the underside of the bridge, according to a news release from the village.
“We closed it in an abundance of caution for public safety,” Fitzgerald said.
He added that the sidewalk on the structure, which spans a set of railroad tracks and connects North Pfingsten Road to South Waukegan Road, remains open and is safe for pedestrians to use.
The village board approved a $2.01 million contract to fully reconstruct the bridge to Lorig Construction Company on March 20. Fitzgerald said construction is slated to begin July 5 and will be completed during the same construction season probably in early November, he said.
“We are trying to see if there is anyway possible, since the bridge is now closed, if we can move construction start date up,” he said.
The project is 80 percent grant funded with federal dollars allocated by IDOT and changing the construction schedule requires sign-offs from a number of entities, Fitzgerald said. The village will pay the remaining 20 percent of the costs.
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While the bridge is closed, traffic will be directed toward Lake Cook Road and Waukegan Road. Southbound traffic will be directed toward southbound Waukegan Road to westbound Lake Cook Road. Northbound traffic at Pfingsten will be detoured to eastbound Lake Cook Road to northbound Waukegan Road.
Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.