Batavia bridge work finally weathers the storms

It's a little bit easier to see that bridge construction is coming to an end in Batavia.

When the north half of the bridge was poured last week, it was a major step for the project, one that had been delayed months by weather.

"Now it's minor concerns at this point," said city bridge liaison Terry Heffron.

Contractors expected to finish post-tensioning -- a technique to basically pull the halves of the bridge together and strengthen it -- on Wednesday.

Next up is working on the north-half sidewalk and the roadwork approaching the bridge.

Residents will still have to deal with a final two-week closure for contractors to pour a final layer of concrete, sandblast the bridge deck, stripe the lanes and add streetscaping.

That's tentatively scheduled for the second or third week in April, allowing the bridge to open at the end of the month or early May, Heffron said.

"It's going to look a lot more complete in the next four to six weeks," he said.

For that final layer of concrete, temperatures need to be at least 50 degrees.

"By the time we get there, we'll likely have that," Heffron said.

The bridge's original completion date was supposed to be Dec. 14, but was pushed back by repeated weather delays, including heavy rains and cold weather.

Other work along the river, such as retaining walls, might be delayed further because of the high level of the Fox River, but that won't impact when the bridge opens, Heffron said.

Floating ice damaged a shoring tower for an overlook this winter, and that will have to be added later as well, he said.