Villa Park bridge's future uncertain

Villa Park has placed a 10-ton weight limit on an aging and deteriorating bridge along the North Ardmore Avenue.

Village Manager Robert Niemann said that an annual checkup by the village revealed enough concerns that it warranted review from an outside firm.

"The bridge was crumbling from inside," Niemann said.

The firm's results were sent to the Illinois Department of Transportation, which recommended either the placing the new weight restriction on the Ardmore bridge or shutting it down.

Trustees this week voted in favor of the weight restriction. Signs have been posted at the bridge, which is near the intersection of Ardmore and North avenues.

Due to its declining state, IDOT will review its sturdiness every three months.

Niemann said the bridge likely will require major repairs or outright replacement in two years at a cost of roughly $8 million.

Through a federal highway grant program, Niemann said, the village might only have to pay for 20 percent of bridge construction costs.

Villa Park already has secured federal funding for the engineering phase of a bridge project. Work is scheduled to begin in December 2008.

"This bridge had been on the watch list for some time," IDOT spokesman Mike Claffey said.

In Feb. 2006, the bridge was put on the "legal limit load" list, which meant trucks over 40 tons couldn't use it without a permit, Claffey said.

The latest restriction on the bridge, Claffey said, "is a sign we are concerned about the structure and want to keep a close eye on it."

Niemann said fire department engines have been using Addison Road as a detour to avoid carrying heavy loads over the bridge.

Cars and sports utility vehicles could continue to use the concrete bridge above the Central Pacific Railroad lines, Niemann said, but a trucks carrying cargo likely would tip the scales over the new weight limit.

"Everybody's very cautious after Minneapolis," Niemann said.

Thirteen people died after the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed Aug. 1, dropping drivers and passengers into the Mississippi River below.

Although agencies had detected fatigue within that Minneapolis steel truss bridge, it remained open.

Claffey said if IDOT felt the concrete bridge in Villa Park posed an immediate danger, it would have been shut down.