Cold weather stalling work on Batavia bridge

There haven't been any workers on the Wilson Street bridge lately, as they are waiting for a warm-up to proceed with construction.

Contractors haven't been working on the bridge for a couple weeks because they are at a point where the only thing they can do is pour concrete on the north side of the bridge, said Terry Heffron, the city's bridge liaison.

There needs to be four or five days where the nighttime temperatures don't fall below the mid-20s for that to happen, he said.

"We're just kind of in a holding pattern, waiting for accommodating weather," he said Thursday.

After the bridge deck is poured, it will take another three weeks or so after that until the bridge is totally open, he said.

Under the best case scenario, that sets the date for completion in March. If contractors don't get the good weather they're hoping for next week, it will take longer.

The original completion date for the bridge was Dec. 14. That date couldn't be hit because of heavy rains at the beginning of the project, contractors said.

They asked for an additional three-week full closure last summer to try to complete it on time, but the city council rejected that request.

Since then, the weather has continually pushed back the work.

The Illinois Department of Transportation could have issued a $7,500 fine for each work day past Dec. 14 but instead gave contractors a waiver because of the weather conditions.

"They're not in violation of anything," said Bill McGrath, Batavia city administrator. "It's totally weather dependent."

Officials thought there would be a chance to get the concrete poured on the bridge during a warm streak in January, but one night's temperature was too low, Heffron said.

Contractors will have to shut the entire bridge down for two weeks in the spring to lay the final "cap" of concrete.