CHICAGO — Work to replace a deteriorating bridge in Hegewisch will begin in early November, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Crews will begin replacing the Torrence Avenue bridge that crosses the Grand Calumet River, about a mile south of 130th Street, after a routine study in the spring found the bridge to be deteriorating, IDOT said in a news release Friday.
The bridge has been closed to traffic since May, IDOT said.
Crews will be replacing the bridge rather than repairing it, IDOT said, because structural damage was so extensive. The new, $13 million bridge should be completed by summer 2017, IDOT said.
The outgoing, steel truss bridge was built in 1938. The new bridge will have a more modern design, including a multiuse path on the east side of the bridge and as standard sidewalk on the west side.
This is IDOT's second major bridge construction project in Hegewisch in 2015.
In June, the department opened a massive bridge just a mile north of the current project, on Torrence Avenue. That bridge was built so railroad tracks could be separated from the road that is used heavily by commuters and trucks traveling to Ford's nearby plant.
The current project is being done not to alleviate traffic problems, but to fix a safety issue with the existing structure, IDOT said.
Still, there will be impacts to local traffic. IDOT said it has posted a detour route that asks commuters to use Sibley Boulevard, Brainerd Avenue and 130th Street to get around the construction and back onto Torrence Avenue.
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