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Carol Stream Park District looks to repair pedestrian bridge

A consultant is recommending a shuttered pedestrian bridge that connects the Carol Stream Public Library with Armstrong Park be replaced or temporarily fixed.

Pavia-Marting & Company has been looking into possible fixes for the bridge, which has been closed since March after a concrete slab fell off it. The passageway sits about five feet above Klein Creek.

The Carol Stream Park District, which owns the bridge, would be responsible for the cost of repairs.

The consultant’s report provides three possible fixes:

Ÿ Keep the existing deck, including the concrete and underlying structure, and add new railings. It would cost $40,000, and could extend the life of the bridge by seven years.

Ÿ Keep the existing deck, structure and abutments, but add a prefabricated bridge. That option would cost about $100,000 and last 50 years.

Ÿ Remove the entire bridge and replace it with a large culvert over which a new walkway will be installed. The report doesn’t provide a cost estimate, but it would be “super expensive” and not an option the park district would likely take, according to Julie Vogl, the park district’s director of marketing services.

Vogl also said park district officials are concerned that children may go into the culvert.

Right now, it seems officials are favoring the second option — adding a prefabricated bridge, Vogl said.

A preliminary inspection by the village’s engineering staff in March found the bridge to be not in “imminent danger of collapse.” The bridge was built in 1979.

It’s likely repairs would be funded out of the park district’s capital budget.

The park board received the consultant’s report this week, but has not yet made an official decision.

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