Bridge to be razed at Waterfall Glen near Darien

A shuttered pedestrian bridge soon will be removed at Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve near Darien.

DuPage County Forest Preserve commissioners on Tuesday unanimously agreed to hire Omega III, an Elgin-based company, to demolish the steel pony truss bridge that spans Sawmill Creek on the southeast corner of the preserve.

"It's going to be sad to see that bridge go," said Commissioner Linda Painter, who lives in a neighborhood near Waterfall Glen. "But it's disintegrating, so it's not safe."

Installed in 1981, the bridge used to be part of the preserve's original main trail system. But it stopped being widely used when the trail was realigned.

Safety concerns about the bridge prompted the district to close it in 2014. An inspection done that year determined the structure was in "imminent failure" condition.

Omega III will be paid up to $56,710 to do the demolition work, which is expected to happen before the start of summer.

The district has no plans to build a replacement. In the meantime, pedestrians can get across the creek by using another nearby bridge.