Sidewalks, new structure in store for 2 Naperville bridges

Naperville is making plans for improvements to two bridges that carry Washington Street over different segments of the DuPage River.

Sidewalks are set to be added this summer to both sides of the bridge near Ring Road and Naper Boulevard in a roughly $2 million project, said Bill Novack, director of transportation, engineering and development.

But it will take longer for work to begin on the downtown bridge between Chicago and Aurora avenues, which is to be reconstructed beginning in 2019 in a project expected to cost $8 million.

The city council on Tuesday approved engineering contracts for both projects.

Thomas Engineering Group will prepare construction documents for pedestrian improvements to the southern bridge under a $179,407 contract.

Novack said work on that bridge includes replacement of the top layer of the road's surface. During construction, traffic on the bridge will be reduced to one lane in each direction.

For the downtown Washington Street bridge, a multiyear replacement project begins with a $327,970 preliminary engineering contract with Alfred Benesch & Company, which the council approved Tuesday. The federal surface transportation program for bridge replacement is funding 80 percent of the work, leaving the city to pay $62,594.

Novack said he expects it to take more than a year for the company to do a bridge condition report on the structure, which was built in 1928 and renovated in 1977 and 2004. Then the city can contract for final engineering and construction work.

Engineers will analyze the type and size of the new bridge and survey constraints because of the river and nearby buildings and roads. Novack said the downtown buildings limit the number of lanes that can be added to the new bridge, so the city might have to ask for a variance from federal highway administration guidelines.

When construction begins, the city will be careful not to completely restrict traffic on the main north/south artery through downtown.

"It's a busy street that does not have many alternate routes," Novack said.

Crews will work on half the bridge at a time to allow drivers to get through, he said.