Out with the old and in with the new – Naperville is replacing the gateway bridge to downtown.
Constructed in 1928, the Washington Street Bridge has been welcoming people into downtown Naperville for nearly one hundred years.
Now, after almost a century of service, the bridge is going to be replaced.
“In 2014, the city did a visibility study to evaluate the condition of the bridge to see what additional work will be done to ensure the bridge is safe, whether it’s another major rehab or replacing the bridge,” said Yifang Lu, Project Engineer with the City of Naperville. “Per the study it was recommended that the bridge be replaced.”
General goals for the new bridge include smoothing the flow of traffic, reducing crashes, increasing the weight capacity to highway standards, and giving the bridge a visual design to match the downtown area.
The city is looking for public input on these goals and more at two public meetings.
“Our goal is to have a really cool bridge when we’re done and we’re pretty confident we can do that and the input is really important to us,” said Bob Kozurek, Engineering Manager with the City of Naperville.
The first public meeting will be held on February 9th at 4 p.m.
Construction is planned for 2019.
Naperville News 17’s Blane Erwin reports.
