The Village of Oak Park recently gave its approval to a contract that would start repairs to three bridges that cross I-290, the Eisenhower Expressway.
Bill McKenna, the village engineer, says the Eisenhower is spanned by seven bridges within Oak Park, and although the Ridgeland Avenue and Harlem Avenue bridges are maintained by the Illinois Department of Transportation, the village is tasked with maintaining the other five, at least to some degree.
The board approved a contract earlier this month with BLA Inc. to provide design and engineering services for repairs to the decks of the Lombard, East, and Home avenue bridges. The contractor will be repairing bridge joints, sidewalks, pavements, and bridge decks, and in addition, will install protective shields under the bridges. The shielding will protect expressway traffic in case concrete drops off the structure. The contact was approved in the amount of $135,696. In dealing with situations like this, officials can use Print shops to create materials that explain the project for residents.
McKenna explained the need for shielding and added it would be necessary to do a great deal of patching, which he says is usually the biggest part of a project like this. He also said the ultimate plan is to tear down and replace the bridges when IDOT rebuilds the expressway, though that project will not begin for at least another ten years. However, Oak Park wants the bridges to be functional and safe until such time as they're razed.
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