Long Grove debating whether to renovate or replace iconic covered bridge
Long Grove's more than 100-year-old covered bridge has such a strong link to the village that its image is part of the official government logo.
On the western edge of the downtown business district that draws visitors from across the Chicago area for festivals and shopping, the distinct bridge serves as an easy meeting spot or a photo opportunity for those who enjoy a taste of yesteryear.
But the poor condition of the one-lane bridge has sparked talk by village officials about a replacement over Buffalo Creek.
Village President Angie Underwood said officials expect to decide by year's end whether to rehabilitate the Robert Parker Coffin Road structure or build a new covered bridge. While believed to date to about 1906, the bridge didn't receive its wooden cover until the 1970s.
"It's historic, which makes it charming and part of historic Long Grove, but we have to be concerned about the bridge that'll carry forth into the future," Underwood told the Daily Herald.
Cost will be an issue as the Long Grove village board weighs whether to rehabilitate or replace the bridge. Board members most recently addressed the subject at an Aug. 26 meeting.
Village Engineer Joseph Chiczewski said it would cost an estimated $400,000 to renovate the bridge that includes pin-connected steel trusses. He said the village does not have records showing an exact date of when the one-lane bridge opened.
If the village decides to tear down the bridge and build a new one over Buffalo Creek, Chiczewski said, Long Grove could seek 80 percent of the funding from a federal and state replacement program.
Chiczewski said the federal and state money for the projected $800,000 to $850,000 total cost would be available only if the village builds a two-lane span that meets modern transportation requirements to accommodate greater vehicle width and weight.
On the low end of a 20 percent contribution toward the federal and state initiative, the new bridge would cost Long Grove $160,000 compared to $400,000 for rehabilitation.
Long Grove Village Trustee Charles Wachs has been intimately involved in the village's study on whether to keep or replace the covered bridge. He said part of the old bridge's appeal is its single lane and steel trusses, boosting the merits of renovation.
"I think what came out of the study is the historical significance of the bridge isn't the fact it's covered, because it wasn't covered when it was built," Wachs said. "It's the fact it's so old."
While acknowledging the old bridge is of significance to the character of touristy downtown Long Grove, Chiczewski said an updated inspection for the Federal Highway Administration placed the structure at a "really low" 28.6 sufficiency rating on a scale of 100.
However, officials said the bridge is safe, provided drivers obey a 3-ton weight restriction, a nearly 11-foot height limit and a prohibition on truck use. Underwood said problems can arise when the restrictions are not followed.
"We've got increased truck traffic that has been coming through," she said. "And the bridge has been hit by trucks and it's been damaged - the upper part of the bridge - at least five times that I can remember, and so it's an ongoing concern that we're getting the truck traffic across the bridge."
Sharon Fine, executive director of Long Grove Business and Community Partners, said she also has seen the damage trucks cause when striking the covered bridge. Fine said she observed a truck recently that was over the height limit halt before the bridge, then tie up traffic while turning around.
Given the village's tight finances, Fine said her organization would support Long Grove pursuing the federal and state program to receive 80 percent funding for the new two-lane bridge option.
"I think we all want a cover on the bridge," she said. "We all want it to have the same appearance."
Chiczewski said renovation of the one-lane covered bridge would last roughly 30 years and that work could begin at any time, because the village would pay for all of it. He said the village would get at least 50 years of use from a new bridge, which could take up to three years to build because of state and federal government involvement.
Statewide, about 50 private and public bridges date as far back as the 1800s, according to a list compiled by the Illinois Department of Transportation. Some of the structures on IDOT's historic bridge list have been renovated or closed to vehicles.
Among the oldest in the suburbs is Walden-Bluff's Edge bridge in Lake Forest, which is limited to pedestrians. IDOT places the bridge's construction at 1896.