Independent
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Villa Park
also serving Oakbrook Terrace
VOL. 13 • NO. 39
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2017
St. Charles Bridge repairs moving forward Temporary fix to be completed soon
By Paul DelGuidice
the bridge is estimated to cost $4 million and take up to two years to complete. Juskelis said the Village is currently writing an agree-
ment with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) for grant funding which will pay for 80% of the cost. The bridge is also partly
in the City of Elmhurst, which is also seeking funding for the project. “We have a committee that will
be contacting our state and federal officials to help speed that project along,” said Elmhurst City Manager Jim Grabowski.
FOR THE VILLA PARK INDEPENDENT
Motorists traveling on St. Charles Rd. just west of Route 83 have seen the traffic cones and construction warning signs for two weeks: Expect Delays! At the Monday, Sept. 11 Board of Trustees meeting, the construction time-frame was outlined by Village Director of Public Works Vydis Juskelis. “Lane shifting will begin Monday, Sept. 18 and the temporary reinforcement will take a few days to complete,” he said. The bridge, which spans the Salt Creek, has deteriorated to the point where structural reinforcement and a weight restriction is needed for safety. While a full reconstruction is planned, temporary work is needed immediately. V3 Companies of Illinois has submitted an emergency design, construction and construction engineering plan to reenforce the failing bridge beams. This will prevent total closure of the bridge. The cost of the emergency repairs is put at a not-to-exceed price of $50,000. Villa Park will seek to apply previously-awarded State of Illinois grant funds toward this project. Once the temporary fix is completed, all four lanes of St. Charles Rd. will be open. “Will their still be a weight limit after the repairs?” asked Village Trustee Bob Wagner. “The 15-ton weight limit will be in effect until the bridge is replaced,” said Juskelis. The permanent replacement of
COURTESY PHOTO Villa Park Independent
Reaching for the stars… and the moon, clouds, sun
St. Pius X Parish School kindergarten students performing a play for their classmates. Each of the students is holding their handmade puppets of the sun, moon, stars and clouds while reciting a poem to the class about how they were created. Their classmates and teachers were delighted to learn something new.
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