Highland Avenue bridge reopens after repairs

After weeks of U-turns, detours and angst, the Highland Avenue bridge between Downers Grove and Lombard will open up to cars Wednesday.

The bridge is close to key locations including Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital and Yorktown Center mall, and Highland Avenue is a Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) interchange.

The $1.2 million DuPage County and Illinois Department of Transportation project included concrete patching and replacing bridge joints on the 29-year-old structure. No major repairs had occurred to the bridge since it was built in 1987 and the joints had deteriorated significantly, engineers said.

Favorable weather allowed the work to be completed a week earlier than scheduled, DuPage County transportation officials said.

Highland Avenue carries between 23,500 and 28,500 vehicles a day, according to IDOT. The bridge was closed in July, causing major traffic disruptions in the area.

Work including patching on the I-88 bridge and ramps will involve some lane closures and continue until Labor Day.