Mayoral tiebreaker propels Mount Prospect pedestrian bridge forward

The pedestrian bridge linking Meadows and Melas parks cleared its final hurdle Tuesday, with the Mount Prospect village board approving a construction contract.

The 200-foot-long bridge spanning Northwest Highway and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks is expected to begin construction in July and finish in 2027.

Right until the end, the village board was split on the need for bridge, with Mount Prospect Mayor Paul Hoefert breaking a 3-3 deadlock.

Hoefert said he was enthusiastic about the bridge’s potential for fostering connectivity within the village.

“Some might look at this as a project that just connects Melas and Meadows. It’s so much more than that. It connects, in my mind, South Mount Prospect and North Mount Prospect,” he said.

The board concurred with IDOT’s awarding of the $10.7 million construction contract to Dunnet Bay Construction Co. Most of the funding will come from grants, with the village on the hook for only $1.3 million.

In addition, there will be construction engineering costs of more than $850,000, also mostly funded through grants, with the village only paying roughly $120,000.

Trustees John Matuszak, Colleen Saccotelli and Terri Gens supported the bridge, while Vince Dante, William Grossi and Beth DiPrima opposed.

“We're getting this bridge for basically about the same amount of money as a grade-level crossing,” Saccotelli said.

Matuszak praised village staff members for minimizing village costs, saying they “found 88% of the funding necessary for this project. That's remarkable in my book.”

However, DiPrima questioned the need for the project.

“I still see other uses for this money that would benefit a larger percent of the residents,” she said. She also criticized village management for not doing a better job of reaching out to residents while the project was being discussed.

“We have never had a (Committee of the Whole) discussing the pros and cons of building the bridge,” she said.

Dante said he was concerned about liability.

“My concern is that the bridge may be misused by e-scooters, skateboards and similar devices,” he said.