Fox River canoe race is on hold for now

The 47th Mid-American Canoe and Kayak Race is the latest victim of delays in the construction of the new Wilson Street bridge in Batavia.

The Fox Valley Park District announced Thursday it will postpone this year's race from June 1 to a date yet to be determined because of uncertainty over when the bridge will be finished. It feels it is unsafe to conduct the race while construction is going on.

On Feb. 18, a tower that supports forms for the new north half of the bridge was damaged by an ice floe. City officials say the Fox River water level is too high to get in and repair it, and think it might be another two weeks before they can do so.

They estimate it will take two weeks to repair the tower. Then, once weather permits, pouring the concrete for the north half of the bridge will take one to two weeks. After that, pouring the final bridge deck is expected to take two weeks. And after that, it will install sculptures, street lights and permanent sidewalks.

The bridge was supposed to be finished by Dec. 14, but was delayed by rainy weather last spring, high river levels in August and cold temperatures this winter. Construction started last February.

The canoe and kayak races were not held last year due to the bridge construction. The race is from Mount St. Mary Park in St. Charles to McCullough Park at Route 31 and Illinois Avenue in Aurora.