Weather hampers Batavia bridge work

The completion of the Batavia bridge will be pushed into the new year.

If contractors have favorable weather, the project could be finished in January, but bad weather could push it back further, City Administrator Bill McGrath told the city council Monday night.

"We want to give citizens and everyone here a date they can rely on, but that's the best we can do right now," he said.

The Illinois Department of Transportation recently approved a waiver of late fees for contractors because of a 36-day delay at the beginning of the project because of heavy rains, McGrath said.

Contractors could have been fined $7,500 a day for every day past the original completion date of Dec. 14.

Finishing the bridge, including grouting and post-tensioning, requires 50-degree weather. Contractors can make it warmer with tents and heaters, and concrete curing can produce its own heat.

"But if temperatures are 0 degrees, 10 degrees, I think you could say 'Hmm, we probably have a problem here,' " McGrath said.

Completion of the bridge -- including decorative railings, lighting and sidewalk pavers -- was always scheduled to be done in the spring.

Substantial completion -- one lane in each direction, both parking lanes and two open sidewalks -- was what was scheduled for Dec. 14.

Because of that, McGrath said he expects contractors Illinois Constructors Corp. to be working continuously on the bridge, instead of having to stop work and return in warmer weather.

He said contractors have been "extremely cooperative" in attempting to finish the bridge as quickly as possible, including working double and overnight shifts.